


It's Complicated

by LTHSFICS



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Adoption, Angst, Arsenal FC, Divorce, Fluff, Football (Soccer) AU, Football Captain Louis, Football journalist Harry, Happy Ending, Homophobia, Jealous Harry, Jealous Louis, Jerk louis, Kid Fic, M/M, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, dad louis, i love this fic with all my heart, just in the beginning, papa harry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2020-03-17 16:26:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 48,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18968923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LTHSFICS/pseuds/LTHSFICS
Summary: Louis takes a swig of his beer, “You wanna know why we aren’t okay?”“Please do tell me Louis,” Harry insists.“You,” Louis sticks his finger against Harry’s chest. “Are making a big deal about nothing! We both miss shit, not just me okay? So don’t go blaming all our problems on me!”“The problem is you Louis!”“Oh really? Well then why don’t you just rid of the problem then?”Harry frowns, “What the hell do you mean?”And without even thinking Louis shouts, “Divorce me! Hell divorce me and maybe we’ll both be happier!” As soon as the words leave his mouth, he regrets them.ORLouis and Harry never would have thought that one day they would be getting a divorce. The only thing that connects them now is a long history and more importantly their three children. Both parents never wanted this, but maybe a divorce was just what they needed.





	1. We're Not Okay

**Author's Note:**

> Hellooo! It has been too long. I'm back for another story. I am in love with this plot so hopefully you guys enjoy. 
> 
> Just a warning, I am American and I know nothing about "football" so there might be some inaccuracies throughout the story, so I do apologize beforehand. I did research but you can never trust Google. 
> 
> Anyway have fun reading!  
> ~DJN

   
Louis was sat on the bench with his head hung low between his legs. He still had his football kit on and his cleats were starting to cramp up his feet but he had no intention of taking any of it off.  There was fresh sweat dripping from his hair and patches of dirt and grass scattered on his skin.

_“Here comes Tomlinson from behind. He dodges one defender…he passes it off to Payne…Payne crosses it back over to Tomlinson. He has a clear shot!”_

The headband on Louis's head suddenly was feeling too tight so he yanks it off his head and flings it somewhere across the room. Louis could tell that his teammates were avoiding him. He couldn't blame them though. If he were them, he would be doing the same thing.

_“Unbelievable! Tomlinson has completely missed the net!”_

Louis can still hear the shouts from the crowd and see the disappointment on his teammate’s faces as the ball skims past the goal post.

_“The goal was wide open! That was supposed to be a game winner. I know the man is going through a divorce but he really let his team down on this one.”_

Louis abruptly stands up and punches his locker out of frustration. The sound of skin hitting wood echoes throughout the room, making everyone in the locker room quiet down.

He could feel his fist throbbing and worries that he might have broken his hand. The whispers were silenced and Louis could feel several eyes staring at his back. He makes eye contact with Liam and Niall who are looking at him with full concern but all Louis registers is pity.

Louis grabs his duffel bag and doesn’t even bother with changing. Louis swiftly moves around his teammates, who make a path for him. Without saying goodbye, Louis leaves out the door to run away from his problems like he always does. 

\--------------------

It was a rainy day in London and Louis decided the best way to spend his day was to lay on the couch and watch television. But to be honest, lately Louis’s days have been like this no matter what the weather was like.

Louis was laid across his couch with his hand propped on a pillow with an ice pack on top of it. Turns out he didn’t break his hand, just bruised it, but it still hurt like hell.

Since Louis had nothing better to do, he was currently watching Sky Sports. As they are switching segments, they showed a replay of Louis’s missed shot yesterday making him cringe as he watches the ball go past the goal.

Talking on the screen right now was his least favorite person in the world, Nick Grimshaw, aka Sky Sport’s “most charming” journalist. 

The first time Nick interviewed him, was also going to be the last. Throughout the whole interview Louis and Nick were bickering and arguing over everything. Half of the footage couldn’t even be used because of “explicit language.”

Louis has never hated someone more than he did Nick and he didn’t even know why. He was one of those people that Louis wanted to punch as soon as he saw them. But because Harry and Nick were friends/co-workers, Louis tried multiple times to get along with the guy. At the end Louis concluded that he and Nick were born to hate each other, at least that’s what he explained to Harry.

 _“So Nick, what are your thoughts on Tomlinson’s performance yesterday?”_ The other sportscaster at the desk asks. Louis didn’t recognize the man probably because he hasn’t been watching Sky Sports since Harry left him. 

_“Honestly he looked terrible out there,"_ Nick answers without hesitation _. “He clearly was not in the right mind-set during the whole game. I know he has a lot going on but he needs to be able to put that all aside and play football.”_

 _“If the viewers are not aware, Louis Tomlinson who was married to Sky Sport’s very own Harry Styles, has now finalized their divorce. I think it’s also worth mentioning that they have three children together,”_ the man addresses to the camera before turning back to Nick. _“Now with that being said, how does someone simply put aside a messy divorce like that?”_

 _“I have no clue. I haven’t been married before,”_ Nick chuckles. _“But I do know that Louis has to get over it soon. How will he be able to lead his team while he is playing like crap?”_

Louis would love to reach into the TV screen and grab Nick by his scrawny neck. There have been multiple news outlets that have commented about the divorce, but when it’s coming from Nick it sounds extra infuriating somehow.

 _“So are you blaming Tomlinson for the loss?”_ The man asks Nick.

_“Absolutely, we all know he could have made that goal. Hell a toddler could have made that goal. I think Arsenal is better off just benching him for the rest of the season.”_

Louis let’s that comment sink in for a minute. Coach had offered him to take a leave of absence just until he had his life back under control. Of course Louis rejected that offer. He didn’t want to mope all day, he wanted to bury himself in work to keep himself from thinking too much.

But now that Louis thinks about it, maybe it is better for him to be benched for a little bit. He knows he is playing like shit right now and that’s not what the team deserves. Louis could easily make Liam temporary captain and they would be winning more games.

As Louis thinks over his options, he hears the TV shut off. When he looks up, he is not surprised to see his little sister, Lottie, standing there. It was just a matter a time before his sister came over to check up on him.

“Don’t listen to them,” Lottie says after she turned off the TV.

Louis snuggles further into the couch, ready for this upcoming conversation with his sister. “How did you get in here?”

He could have sworn he locked the door, but nowadays he barely restocks his fridge so he wouldn’t be surprised if he left his front door open for anybody to waltz right in.  

“The key was under your front door mat. You should really think about moving that. It’s very predictable you know,” Lottie sits down beside him, eyeing his bruised hand. “Should I even ask about your hand?”

“I punched a locker,” Louis simply says, feeling like that’s explanation enough.

Lottie let’s out a sigh. “So is this all you’ve been doing? Listening to people bash on you while you sulk?”

“Actually I ate some ice cream a little while ago.” Louis pouts from under his blanket.

Lottie looks on the coffee table and sees a full bowl of melted ice cream. She decides not to mention that or the fact her brother is cuddling the same blanket Harry got him for his birthday.

“So, how are you doing Lou?” She asks warily.

Louis does not want to talk about it but knowing his sister, she was not going to let it go.

“I mean did you watch my game yesterday Lotts?” Louis quirks his eyebrow at her. “I did awful and it’s because of this stupid divorce. I can’t stop thinking about it.”

Louis was getting frustrated with the fact that he keeps focusing on the divorce. All he wants to do is forget about it, but it seems like his emotions are consuming him, trapping him in this dark room where he can’t get out.

Lottie looks down at him with sad eyes. “Louis I am so sorry this is happening to you and Harry. But it’s natural to feel this way,” Lottie hesitates, biting her lip as if she was contemplating her next words. “Look I know you’re upset and angry right now, but you had days to prepare for this. What were you doing in between then?”

Not preparing for a divorce that’s for sure. When Harry sent the divorce papers in to get processed, Louis thought they would have fixed their marriage in between then. Louis spent day after day trying to come up with a plan to win his husband back and keep his family whole, but Louis totally misjudged the time it would take for divorce papers to get finalized. In about three weeks, it was done. Harry and Louis were officially not married anymore.

“I-I thought we would be able to fix us.” Louis looks down at his left hand and stares at the pale patch of skin on his bare ring finger.

“Oh Louis,” Lottie shakes her head. “If you didn’t want to get a divorce then why did you sign the papers?”

“Because Harry wanted me to. He practically begged me. I would do anything for that man, and if he wants me to sign a damn piece of paper then of course I will. I just didn’t think we would actually go through with it.”

“Of course he was serious, it’s a legal document! Why would you think he wouldn’t go through with it?”

“Because we were happy Lottie! I mean I know we had our fights but that did not mean that we needed to get a divorce. I mean you have to admit he was being a little hasty right?”

“Can I be honest with you for a moment?” Lottie asks. Louis nods his head yes. “It wasn’t the tiny fights that made Harry want to leave you.”

Louis sits up and frowns at her. “I do not want to talk about this.”

Lottie ignores his plea. “The reason why he divorced you was because you were never around Louis,” Lottie takes a deep breath before continuing. “Ever since you became captain you’ve been away with the team on so many occasions. It was like you became a different person. You missed so much and Harry felt like he was losing you. He wasn’t happy like he used to be and I saw it Louis.”

Louis was staring at the floor with frustrated tears threatening to spill out. “So you’re taking his side. Alright.” He stands up and starts pacing around his living room.

“I’m not taking anyone’s side! I’m just trying to make you understand why Harry is doing this.”

Louis let’s out a snort. “Oh then please dear sister, do tell me why my husband is now my ex-husband? Tell me why I only have three days to spend with my kids? Tell me why this whole shit show is happening?!”

He didn’t mean to get so angry, he couldn’t help it. Louis feels like he is living in another dimension and all he wants to do is get back to where he belongs.

Lottie stares at him with a calm expression, not at all phased at his outburst. “You cannot blame Harry for missing you.”

“And how about me Lottie? Do you not think I didn’t miss him too? I had to leave because my team needed me! I play football to provide for my family and that was what I was doing. For god sakes, Harry was the one who pushed me to take the captains position in the first place!” 

Lottie stands up from the couch walking toward her brother with a scowl on her face. “And how about your own family?! For three years you have been missing out on so much. You missed your daughter’s ballet recital. You missed your other daughter’s birthday party. You missed plenty of your son’s football games. You even missed you and Harry’s anniversary last year. So do not stand there and make excuses for yourself! You were the one who decided to leave, no one forced you to.”

At this point Lottie was right in front of Louis with her finger stabbing him in the middle of his chest. Even though she was a small woman, she made Louis feel intimidated.

“I understand that I was not around a lot. But what was I supposed to do? Not go to training? Not go to meetings? I can’t miss shit like that.”

Lottie replaces her scowl on her face with disappointment and backs off. “I’ll talk to you later Louis.”

She walks over to grab her bag. Before she leaves out the door she pauses at the door frame. “He just wanted to know that football wasn’t the only thing you cared about,” she says quietly and leaves out the door, slamming it close.

Once the echo of the door slam silences, Louis was left alone with several thoughts running through his head. 

\-----------------

The house looked the same. It was still the same house Harry and Louis had built together. Except for the fact Louis doesn’t live there anymore.

When the divorce was finalized Louis let Harry keep the house since Louis had already bought a flat. Harry had no complaints.

The house was secluded in the country near London so both parents could commute easily. Louis and Harry had this dream of some sort of “paradise” for them and their future family so they built it. The house itself is a beautiful Georgian style that they renovated, turning it into a more modern home but still keeping some charming aspects of the original house.

They had plenty of land that they definitely made use of. Majority of the land was used for Louis’ mini football pitch that he had to beg Harry to have. The rest of the land was for Harry who used it for his garden and a family pool. They even had a future plan to buy some horses but of course that never happened.

Louis parks his car in the driveway and smiles at the familiar sight of bikes and toys scattered throughout the front yard. Louis remembers coming out there late at night to clean before Harry got home from work so he wouldn’t yell at the kids.

Louis was there to pick up the kids for his half of the week. The schedule was very simple, Harry got the kids from Monday to Thursday while Louis got the kids from Friday to Sunday.

When they sat with the lawyer to figure out the custody plan, Louis just sat there silently while Harry and the lawyer talked. After they were done they both turned to Louis. Louis simply nodded his head in agreement and left out the door.

The first time they tried the new schedule the kids were quiet and ignored their parents. When they got to Louis’s new flat they made a beeline to their bedrooms and stayed there until dinner.

It took some time but eventually they got used to the fact that their parents were no longer together. They said that they’re okay with the idea of switching between parents but Louis and Harry both knew their kids weren’t as happy as they were before.

As Louis was nearing the front door he hears a voice from the backyard. “Come on Clifford give me back the ball!” Louis immediately recognizes the voice as Beckham, his only son and also the eldest.

All of a sudden a big black blob of fur runs toward him with him a football in his mouth. “Hi there Cliff.” Louis kneels down and starts petting his dog.

Yes it was still _his_ dog, but Louis didn’t want to take Clifford away from all this open space to a closed off flat with no inch of grass anywhere so he let him stay with Harry.

“Oh hey dad.”

Louis turns around and sees his son looking at him with a glint in his eye. He will never get over the fact that he looked just like Harry.

Beckham was the only child that they had through a surrogacy. Harry’s sister, Gemma, was the surrogate and they were all surprised when she volunteered herself to carry their child. Apparently she was waiting for them to ask her.

Even though Louis had a hand in making the baby, the Styles genes were clearly the dominant ones. The only characteristics Louis contributed was the straight brown hair and the nose. The rest was all Styles. Beckham had the same shade of green eyes, the same dimples and the same strong jawline like Harry. They could practically be twins.

“Hey Becks, looks like Cliff stole this from you.” Louis takes the slobbery ball from Clifford’s mouth and hands it to his son.

“Gross he slobbered all over it.” Beckham pulls a disgusted face and holds the ball out in front of him so it doesn’t get on his shirt.

“Well maybe next time try protecting the ball better,” Louis teases.

Beckham flings the ball back in the yard, making Clifford chase after it. “Yeah and maybe you should aim for the goal next time,” his son says back.

Louis visibly winces at that. “You got me there bud.”

Beckham immediately regrets what he says when he sees the frown on his dads face. Louis was maybe still a little sensitive on the topic.

“I’m sorry,” Beckham sighs. “I’m just stressed about the game next weekend. Coach has been busting our balls.”

“It’s okay bud but please watch your language,” Louis scolds. “What would your papa say if he heard you say that?”

Beck rolls his eyes like your average teenager. “Come on I’m 12 now.”

“Yeah don’t remind me,” Louis throws his arm around him. “So how’s everybody doing?”

“Papa has been on this healthy food craze at the moment. He’s taken all the sugar and sodas out of the house,” Beck grumbles.

“Sounds like Harry,” Louis chuckles. “But don’t worry I just packed my cupboard full of junk food so when we get there you can sneak some home.”

Louis knew Harry was trying to convert his kids into health nuts like him, so he bought some junk food just in case something like this happened.

“How are your sisters?” Louis feels weird asking it every time because it made him feel like he wasn’t in the loop anymore with his own family.

He and Harry have two other daughters, who were both adopted. Olivia, who is the same age as Beckham and Mila who is only 2 years old.

“Olivia got a boyfriend recently,” Beckham says with a bored tone. “Oh and Mila accidently stomped all over Papa's tomatoes in the garden.”

Louis laughs at that. He could imagine Harry’s horrified face as soon as he sees his daughter covered in tomato juice and dirt. Mila was currently going through her terrible twos phase and both parents have been exhausted trying to handle her.

“Oh wow that’s…wait did you just say Olivia has a boyfriend?” Louis quickly backtracks and tries to make sure he heard his son right.  

Beck simple nods his head. “Yeah, anyway do you think we could stop by the pitch so I can practice with uncle Niall?” 

Louis ignores the question. “Olivia has a boyfriend,” Louis says more to himself, the words tasting sour in his mouth.

His 12 year old daughter has a boyfriend and he didn’t even know.

“I’m gonna take that as a yes. Let me go get my cleats!” Beck rushes out from under his arm and runs into the house.

Louis doesn’t even notice. He’s still on the fact that his 12 year old daughter has a boyfriend!

In the middle of his internal freak out, Harry decides to pick that moment to come out.

“Beckham please do not run in the house!” Harry yells after his son, then he turns to Louis who looks like he’s seen a ghost.

“Our daughter has a boyfriend!” Louis exclaims when he realizes Harry was right in front of him.

“Hi to you too Louis,” Harry says unfazed and then looks down at Louis’s bruised up hand. “What happened to your hand?” He asks with genuine concern.

Louis of course ignores the question because there are more pressing matters. “Our daughter has a boyfriend!” he repeats once more just to make sure Harry is hearing him.

“I know.” Harry rolls his eyes.

Louis’ eyes widen even more. “You knew? For how long?!”

Harry winces at how loud he’s being. “Can you stop screaming please? They have only been dating for a week. I’ve met the lad and he is actually quite the gentleman.”

Louis was annoyed about how calm Harry was being. “Yeah right,” Louis scoffs. “So who is this punk?”

“The _punk_ is named Luke and please stop making a big deal about this.”

“How can I not Harry? She’s only 12 and she’s still my little girl!” Louis pouts.

He still remembers when they first adopted Olivia. After Beckham, Louis and Harry both knew they wanted at least one more kid. Olivia was the first child they received a file from and they fell in love instantly. Olivia was 5 at the time when they adopted her. She was originally from Africa and desperately needed a loving home. Harry and Louis read her story and knew from that point on that they wanted her.

“What’s all this yelling about?” Olivia steps out and looks curiously at her two fathers.

“My little girl!” Louis instantly pulls her into a hug. “Who let you grow up so fast?!” He shouts out dramatically.

“Dad you’re crushing me!” Olivia struggles to get out.

Louis lets go of her and wipes his non-existent tears. “Where is my Mila? At least I have another daughter that I can still cuddle without them yelling at me.”

On cue Mila wobbles her way over to the front door, smiling at her dad. Louis scoops her up and hugs her tight, making her giggle.

“Oh my little munchkin! Please promise me that you will never grow up and will stay this little forever!” Louis repeatedly kisses her cheeks until they become red from his beard.

Harry quickly grabs Mila away from Louis. “Louis stop it, you really need to trim that beard of yours.”

“You never complained about my beard before,” Louis winks at him making the other man blush.

Before Harry could respond back Beckham comes flying out of the house with a duffle thrown over his shoulder. “Come on let’s go! Dad promised me I can practice with Uncle Niall!”

“I did?” Louis furrows his eyebrows, he doesn’t remember agreeing to that.

“Dad I don’t want to stay out on the pitch! There no Wi-Fi there,” Olivia whines.

Louis could already feel a headache coming on. “How about we drop off Becks with Niall and then we can go back to the flat?”

“Sounds like a plan. Now can we please go?” Beck asks impatiently, already halfway to the car.

Harry hands Mila off to Olivia. “Liv can you buckle your sister in. I’m going to talk to your father.”

“You are?” Louis quirks his eyebrow at his ex-husband.

“I am.” Harry confirms. “Also Liv can you make sure to sit next to your sister and hold onto the car seat. I don’t trust that convertible.” He eyes the Louis’ roofless car.

When the kids are out of hearing range Harry turns back to Louis.

“I thought you liked my convertible?” Louis asks right away.

“Yeah when my children aren’t in it.”

“Fair enough.” Louis directs his attention to the ground and digs his heels into the dirt. “So what do you want to talk about?”

It was still weird between him and Harry. Ever since the divorce Louis didn’t know how to act around him. He always had a hard time reading the man even when they were married.  

“I saw the game the other day,” Harry simply says.

And there it is. Louis was hoping they would avoid talking about it but it seems like Harry is on a different page.

“Well I hope you did. I mean it’s your job after all to analyze those games,” he shrugs his shoulders. “So are you going to tell me how fucking bad I was out there?”

Harry quickly shakes his head no. “No of course not Louis. I just wanted to tell you to ignore all those comments. People have no idea what’s going on.”

Louis purses his lips. “Well your colleague Nick was very passionate about the whole thing the other day.”

“Look I talked to Nick and I told him not to comment on it again. I had no idea they were gonna discuss that shit. I’m sorry that you had to listen to that.”

Louis scoffs, “Are you actually?”

Harry frowns at him. “What are you trying to say?”

“Harry you and I both know that you would rather see me on the bench. You always would say I was too _obsessed_ with football. Don’t try to act like you care now.”  

Louis knew he wasn’t being fair but he couldn’t help himself. After the conversation with Lottie, Louis couldn’t stop thinking about what she said. Louis knew Harry supported him and his career, but he always had an underlying feeling that Harry was not happy with everything that came with it. Louis will admit he was away a lot, but he always tried to be the best father and husband that he could be.

“That is not fair,” Harry says through clenched teeth. “You know I supported you and your career. Do not make me the bad guy here. You were constantly away, you barely had time for us!”

Louis looks directly in his eyes. “I’m sorry that we can’t all have jobs that let us stay home Harry, but at least I’m not the one who broke this family apart.”

“I am not the one who broke this family apart, and we both know that.” Harry’s voice was cold as ice, making Louis physically take a step back.

Louis looks down at the ground and takes a deep breath. He and Harry have always been fighting every time they see each other, and each time gets more exhausting than the next.

Louis hears Harry let out a sigh, making him look back up. “Look I have work to do. I’ll see you on Monday Louis. And please do something about your hand, it’s so swollen,” Harry stresses once more before going back into the house.

Louis watches his ex-husband shut the front door, leaving him with his throbbing hand. All of a sudden Clifford comes running back with the ball secured in his mouth. Louis kneels down and pets his head.

“Watch over him Cliff. I still care for that asshole.”

As Louis says goodbye to his dog, his children start yelling at him to hurry up. Louis pats Clifford on the head one last time before jogging over to his car.

Louis plops himself in the driver’s seat and double checks that all his kids are buckled in.

“So are you guys going to fight every time you see each other?” Olivia asks with a small voice from the back seat of the car.

Louis’s hands tighten around the steering wheel. “You heard that?”

“Dad we’re in a convertible right now and you guys were practically screaming at each other,” Beck deadpans.

Louis looks around him to see that yes, they were in fact in a car without a roof that was not too far from the front porch where Louis and Harry were having their fight. Awesome.

Louis turns to face his kids. “Your father and I are trying the best we can. It’s just-“

“-complicated,” both his oldest children finish for him.

Louis puts his car in drive. “Yeah it’s complicated,” he says under his breath and pulls out of the driveway.

\----------

“You know I was having a really great time having a nap,” Niall said as they pull up to the parking lot of the football pitch.

Louis smiles sweetly at his best friend. “I’m sorry that my son wants to practice with the best goalie in the Premiere League.”

“Stop kissing my ass,” Niall mumbles, before turning his attention in the kids in the back of the car. "Hi kiddos!"

“Hi uncle Niall,” Olivia responds without even looking up from her phone.

Niall raises his eyebrows questioningly, towards Louis.

“She has a boyfriend,” Louis explains.

“Oh well that…wait what?!” Niall’s voice carries through the empty lot. “She has a boyfriend? How could you let this happen?!” Niall points an accusing finger at Louis.

Louis puts his hands up defensively. “Hey don’t yell at me. I just found out too. Harry told me he met the lad and that he was supposedly a _gentleman_.” Louis puts up finger quotes around the world gentleman.

“Oh bullshit,” Niall spits out. “Harry wouldn’t know what a gentleman is, he married you for Christ sake!”

 _And he divorced me_. Louis wanted to add but he didn’t want to ruin the mood.

Louis simply takes the light hearted insult and blinks up at Niall. “Wow thanks Niall.”

“Olivia I can’t believe you’re growing up so fast! I feel like it was just yesterday when I was changing your nappies!” Niall starts to fake cry.

This whole interaction reminded Louis of how he reacted when he found out. Seeing it actually play out, makes him realize why Harry was complaining about him being so “dramatic”.

“Uncle Niall stop being so dramatic!” Olivia groans out of embarrassment. “I already had to deal with this when dad found out.”

Beckham, who was fidgeting in his seat with impatience, finally speaks up. “Yeah, yeah, Olivia has a boyfriend, big deal,” Beck rolls his eyes. “Can we please go practice my penalty kicks now?”

Before Beckham gets out of the car, Louis stops him. “Beck give me a kiss before you leave.” Louis leans his cheek toward his son for him to kiss.

“Dad,” Beck grumbles but ultimately gives him a quick peck and rushes out the car.

Niall looks on with fondness. “Do you need me to kiss you as well?” he asks teasingly.

Louis snorts. “I rather you not actually. But I need to ask you something,” Louis waves Niall to come closer, so only he can hear him. “Do you think football took over my life?”

Niall lets out a sad sigh. “Lou is this about the divorce?”

Louis looks down and nods.

Niall puts a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Look Tommo you know how I am about this whole subject.”

It’s true, Niall and almost all their friends were always avoiding the topic. They both loved Harry and Louis so much and did not want to picks sides. It was just an awkward situation for everyone.

“But to answer your question,” Niall continues. “I don’t think football took over your life, but I do think you might have bitten off more than you could chew. You had just adopted Mila and at the same time you were promoted to Captain. That was a lot to juggle.”

“But Niall I didn’t choose to become captain,” Louis argues back. “Coach picked me.”

“Yeah I know but when you became captain you took on the role really seriously. Don’t get me wrong you are one of the best captains this team has seen it’s just, it’s hard to be a good football captain as well as a good father and husband.”

Louis has heard this same kind of speech from everyone he talks to. It’s not like he was ignoring what a shitty husband and father he was, he just didn’t want to admit it.

Louis chews his bottom lip as a distraction. “But Niall you of all people know how time consuming this is. Football is my job.”

“And Harry, Beckham, Olivia and Mila are your family,” Niall squeezes his shoulder one last time before removing his hand. “I love you Louis but you have to realize that Harry had a point when he left you.”

That was harsh but Louis needed to hear it. 

Louis blinks away the tears, but he’s sure Niall notices it. “Thank you Niall. I really needed to hear that,” Louis smiles sadly up at him. “Now get out of here and go make my son a better footie player than me.”

“He already is,” Niall says with a wink. “Bye girls!” He waves bye to the two girls in the back before making his way inside the building.

Louis watches Niall’s retreating figure until he was out of sight.

“Dad I don’t blame you, you know,” Olivia says from the back seat.

Louis twists his body to look at her. “Huh love?”

“For the divorce,” she clarifies. “I know you and papa have been fighting more than usual. It’s okay, we still love you both even if you guys are separated.”

Louis feels tears building up again. “I’m sorry you guys are in the middle of this. It’s not fair.”

“It’s okay,” Olivia puts on a smile for her dad. “I rather see you guys happy than miserable and if that means you guys are divorced then so be it.”

Louis give her a tight smile and turns around so his daughter doesn’t see his tears trickling down his face.

The thing was, as long as he was away from Harry and his family; he could never be happy.

\----------

Louis had bought his flat during when he and Harry were on a “break”. It was only supposed to be temporary, but days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months and now Louis has found himself permanently living there.

The flat was the complete opposite of what Louis has been accustomed to. Outside, Louis could hear the busy streets of London, while back at the house they were surrounded by trees protecting them from the outside world. 

The flat itself was nothing special and even had a bachelor pad feel to it that Louis was not fond of. It had 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, a decent sized kitchen that Louis barely uses and a balcony to look over London.

With the kids there, it felt nice and a little homey but when they weren’t, it was a different story. The flat felt too big and Louis hated living there alone. It was too quiet which was strange since he was so used to living with three children in the house. Louis never thought he would miss the sound of tiny footsteps running in the hallways and the sound of his husband yelling at them to stop.

“I’m going to my room!” Olivia announces as soon as they get through the front door.

Louis watches her leave and looks down at Mila, who was cuddled up in his arms. “Looks like it’s just you and me, little one.”

Mila looks up at her father with a blank expression. “Dada,” she says with a yawn, signaling it was time for her nap.

“I can’t wait until I can have long conversations with you.”

Suddenly Louis hears Olivia squeal from her room. “Oh my god! Did you hear what Mel said about Kristen?” She was no doubt talking to her friends on that damn awful phone.

Louis scrunches up his face. “On second thought, please stay little forever.”

Mila let’s out another yawn and cuddles further into her father’s chest. Louis’s face breaks out in a fond smile and starts to rock her gently in his arms.

Adopting Mila was not at all planned. After Olivia, they weren’t planning on having any more children. A few years later, the adoption agency called and said they had a baby who needed a temporary home. Of course Harry and Louis gladly took her in.

When they got Mila, she was the tiniest baby they had ever seen. She was a tiny little thing at 5 months old. The agency said that she was abandoned by her biological parents. When Louis found out he was absolutely furious and Harry had to physically calm him down. Mila was such a sweetheart and he could not understand how someone could leave her like that.

After just spending a day with Mila, Harry and Louis fell in love with her. They didn’t have the heart to let her go so they adopted her. Both parents were over the moon and were so excited to raise another beautiful little girl.

But that excitement was short lived. About just 2 weeks after adopting Mila, Louis was promoted to Captain for Arsenal.

Harry of course was happy, hell he even told Louis to take the position, but he was also scared that his husband would forget about them. Harry told Louis his concerns, but Louis told him he was being ridiculous. Soon Harry’s fear turned to reality. Like he predicted, Louis started to miss out on movie nights, birthdays, and even their anniversary.

This is eventually when the fighting started. It got so bad that they fought whenever they were in same the room and there was barely any civil conversation between the two. After the first year, things were just going downhill from there.

~~~~~~~~~~ 

_Louis had been away for the whole day on a little field trip with the team. Coach wanted the players to develop better team work skills so it was a mandatory trip for all players. Louis and the rest of the team had an overall good time and it was a good way to get to know the rookies._

_But as much as Louis loves his team he missed his family. It was late at night but Louis was finally coming home and he decided to surprise his family. He knew Harry and the kids always have movie night on Friday, so it was perfect timing._

_When he got to the house though, Harry’s car wasn’t in the driveway. The lights were turned off and it seemed like no one was home._

_Louis’ mind started to race through all the possible negative scenarios. After checking the doors and windows for any signs of forced entry, he thankfully didn’t find anything._

_“Surprise,” Louis’ voice echoes through the empty house. He sits on the couch and lets out a sigh._

_This was not what he had in mind. All he wanted was to cuddle with his husband and his three children. Louis’ eyes started to feel heavy and he decided to take a quick nap._

_“Louis.”_

_Louis’ eye’s snap open, he looks up and sees a pair of green eyes staring down at him. Louis rubs his eyes and smiles sleepily._

_“Hi babe,” Louis puckers his lips, trying to get a kiss._

_Instead of giving what his husband wants, Harry ignores him. “Louis what are you doing here?”_

_Louis furrows his eyebrows at his tone. “I wanted to surprise you guys,” which reminds him, where are his kids? “So where are my beautiful children?” Louis jumps up from the couch, trying to search for his kids._

_“Louis keep your voice down,” Harry shushes him. “They’ve had a long day,” he sighs and slumps back against the couch._

_“Long day? I thought today was movie night?”_

_“Today was Beck’s football championships,” Harry says pointedly._

_Oh. “What? That was today? Shit,” Louis curses. “It totally slipped my mind.”_

_“How can you forget Louis? I reminded you like 5 times before you left,” Harry said clearly irritated at his forgetful husband. “We tried calling you but you never picked up.”_

_Coach made all the players give him their phones so there wouldn’t be any distractions._

_“I’m so sorry Harry,” Louis sits back down, putting some space between him and Harry._

_“Don’t say sorry to me. Say sorry to your son. He was really hoping you were going to show up,” Harry says with disappointed in his voice._

_“Well did they win?” Louis asks._

_“No. They lost by a point.”_

_“Shit,” Louis winces. “How did he take it?”_

_“He’ll be okay. I told him there’s always next year.”_

_“I’ll make it up to him,” Louis hums. “I can take his team out to the stadium tomorrow or something.”_

_Harry shoots a bewildered look toward Louis. “Are you fucking serious? Louis you cannot keep missing big things like this!”_

_“I know, I know. It’s just Coach had taken away our phones and we have that match against-“_

_“Can you stop making excuses for yourself?! I’m tired of it Louis! You’ve been missing out on your kid’s big milestones and it’s like you don’t even care!” Harry shouts._

_Louis is taken aback by his husband’s outburst. “Of course I care.”_

_Harry snorts. “If you cared you would have been at Beckham’s game. You need to start putting more of an effort in this family! I feel like I’m the only one trying here!”_

_“Oh come off it Harry! You know I’ve been busy, cut me some slack!” Louis abruptly stands up from the couch and starts to walk into the kitchen._

_“I’ve been cutting you slack for too long! I’m getting tired of it!” Harry is right behind him._

_Louis opens the fridge and takes out a beer. “I’m tired of us fighting. Can we just do this in the morning?”_

_“No we are doing this now,” Harry stands his ground. “We keep putting this off! We need to figure out how we are going to fix this problem! Louis, we need to figure out how to fix us!” Harry eyes were wide and he was completely red in the face from frustration._

_Louis takes a swig of his beer. “You wanna know why we aren’t okay?”_

_“Please do tell me,” Harry insists._

_“You,” Louis sticks his finger against Harry’s chest. “Are making a big deal about nothing! We both miss shit, not just me okay? So don’t go blaming all our problems on me!”_

_“The problem is you Louis!”_

_“Oh really? Well then why don’t you just rid of the problem then?”_

_Harry frowns. “What the hell do you mean?”_

_And without even thinking Louis shouts, “Divorce me! Hell divorce me and maybe we’ll both be happier!” As soon as the words leave his mouth, he regrets them._

_There was nothing but silence after that. Harry looked at him with a blank expression. There was no more anger, frustration or sadness. Instead Harry was just staring blankly at him._

_Louis gently sets his beer on the counter, trying not to disturb the unsettling silence._

_“Get out,” Harry says, his voice with an obvious quiver to it._

_“Haz I didn’t-“_

_“Get out!” Harry grabs the beer and throws it against the kitchen wall, smashing the bottle into millions of small pieces of glass, splattering brown liquid all over the wall and floor._

_Louis stands there shocked, trying to figure out what to say. Their fights have never gotten this out of control. This was uncharted waters for both of them._

_Harry and Louis freeze when they hear footsteps from upstairs, no doubt their kids waking up from the noise._

_Louis looks at Harry one last time before rushing out the door. He did not want to be there when his kids got down. He didn’t want them to see him like this._

_Louis didn’t know it at the time, but that would be the last time he would call Harry his husband._

_~~~~~~~~~~_

After Mila had fallen asleep in his arms, Louis sets her down in the crib. Louis looks down at her one more time, making sure she doesn’t wake up. He puts the baby monitor on and turns off the lights before leaving.

Louis goes into his own room and pulls out a wooden box that he hides in his drawer. He sits on his bed and opens it.

Inside the box is where he kept pictures of him and Harry. There was pictures from their dates, their wedding, their honey moon and any other picture that showed them being happy, which was a lot. Also in the box was where Louis kept his wedding ring.

When Harry and Louis were settling on a ring, they decided to make their rings identical. Louis wanted simple and Harry wanted sparkles so they compromised. The ring was a simple gold band with one row of black diamonds. On the inside of the ring, was an engraving of what Harry said to Louis when they first started going out.

 _It’s you and me against the world._  
Louis holds the ring in his palm and lets it burn through his skin. Whenever Louis found himself missing Harry, this is where he went. 

Seeing the memories hurt but it brought him back to when they were happy.

The front door suddenly opens and slams close. “Dad guess what!? I scored 5 goals against uncle Niall!” Beckham’s voice travels through the hallway.

Louis hastily puts the ring back in the box and returns the box to its hiding place. He wipes the tears from his face that he didn’t realize were there and pretends that he is somewhat okay.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright hope you guys enjoyed. The next chapter is ready to go! Just give me some feedback!  
> See you in my next update!  
> ~DJN


	2. Take Us Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PREVIEW  
> Louis moves to go but is quickly stopped by Harry who grabs him by the arm. “Louis I didn’t-“
> 
> “No,” Louis interrupts him and snatches his arm back. “If you can’t even trust me with our kids then it makes me wonder if you have ever trusted me at all.”
> 
> Louis says finality and walks away, without looking back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!! I am really liking how this is turning out! I haven't been this excited for a fic, in a while. Hopefully you enjoy this next chapter! Have fun reading!  
> -DJN

 

 

_“Tomlinson steals the ball away from Richardson! He dodges one defender! He makes his way up the field! He lines up his kick…GOAL! Number 28 ends the game with a beautiful shot!”_

_Louis is suddenly tackled to the ground by his teammates, all yelling at him and hyping him up for his game-winning goal. He hears the crowd roar his name and a chant of “Tommo” takes over the stadium._

_After Louis digs himself out of the human pile, he is immediately pulled into a group hug with his best mates/teammates, Niall and Liam._

_“You did it Lou!” Niall screams in his ear._

_Louis let’s himself relax into the bone crushing hug. Time felt like it slowed down, just so Louis could savor the moment. He felt the roar of the crowd vibrate through him and the joy from his teammates was infectious. Nothing in the world could top how he felt right now._

_After celebrating and messing around on the almost empty field, it was time for the less fun part of his job: the interviews._

_There is nothing Louis hates more than post-game interviews. The interviewers always ask the same questions like, “How did you think you did today?” or “What do you need to improve on?” or the most common one, “Do you think you’re better than Messi?”_

_Louis takes a seat in front of all the cameras and microphones. He offers a smile to some of the journalists he has seen plenty times before._

_“Hello everyone,” Louis greets the room. “As much as I love talking with you lot, I rather be in the locker room celebrating with my team. So let’s makes this a quick one.”_

_Louis scans over the crowd full of raised hands and picks on the first one he saw go up._

_“Firstly congrats on winning the game Tommo,” the reporter opens up. “Now on to my question, can you please address the rumors of you transferring to Manchester United?”_

_Louis shrugs his shoulders. “There is nothing to address. I’m not going anywhere,” he says confidently. “Next question.”_

_A woman in the front stands up. “I know you’re gonna hate me for asking this Louis.”_

_“Then don’t ask it then,” Louis teases, causing the room to laugh. “Just joking love, ask away.”_

_“Today during the match, I think the viewers noticed a bit of tension between you and Richardson. Is there any type of hostility around the two of you?”_

_Louis shakes his head no right away. “It is all good fun. Richardson and I go way back. He is a great football player.”_

_Truth is he hated Richardson. But the media didn’t need to know that. Louis already had a lot of drama with other players, he didn’t need anymore._

_Immediately another reporter speaks up. “Can you talk about the rumors of you and Ariana Grande?”_

_Louis refrains from rolling his eyes. He turns to his agent and whispers to him, to never let that journalist in the conference again._

_“What are you a gossip column now?” Louis raises his eyebrows at the journalist. “As far as I am concerned this is a professional post-game conference, and let me remind you that I’m gay,”_

_After Louis was finished telling the reporter off, they turn red with embarrassment and quickly sit down._

_Louis almost felt bad but everyone by now knows he is gay. It was the first thing Louis had made official when he went pro. Arsenal was one of the few clubs that agreed to let him come out, making it a easy decision for him to join them._

_His teammates and coaching staff were all behind him, which made coming out way more easier._

_When Louis did come out, of course he received some hate, but all that mattered was that he wasn't starting out his career with lies._

_After that question Louis decides he will take one more before calling it a day._

_“Alright one more question,” Louis announces while looking over the room._

_His eyes come to a halt on an unfamiliar face. A very beautiful unfamiliar face._

_Louis had no idea how he missed him. The man was wearing a baby blue suit. The only speck of color in the sea of black suits._

_The guy was tall, skinny but also well built, he had shoulder length curly brown hair, and the most perfect jaw Louis has ever seen._

_Unlike everyone else, the man in blue seemed to be more interested on whatever was on his phone, instead of focusing on Louis. Which intrigued Louis even more._

_Louis squints his eyes to try to read the guy’s badge and saw that he worked for Sky Sports._

_Louis narrows his eyes. “You over there. The one on the phone.” Louis watches as everyone’s head turns to see who he was talking to._

_The man looks up and seems startled when he figures out Louis is talking to him. He stuffs his phone in his pocket and directs his attention toward Louis._

_All Louis could think about was how green the man’s eyes were._

_“Oh hello,” the man greets while shyly waving his hand. “I’m sorry for not paying attention. I’m just an intern so I didn’t think I was that important,” the man chuckles awkwardly._

_Louis furrows his eyebrows. He didn’t have a clue who this man was but he didn’t appreciate him putting himself down like that._

_“Of course you’re important,” Louis says sincerely. “Don’t put yourself down just because you’re starting out. We all had to start somewhere,” Louis smiles kindly at him, earning him a smile back. “So what’s your name?”_

_“Harry Styles for Sky Sports,” Harry demonstrates by showing his badge that was clipped to his shirt._

_“Well Mr. Styles, are you going to ask me a question?” Louis quirks his eyebrow._

_Harry looked surprised for a spilt minute before composing himself. He straightens up his back, rolls his shoulders and looks straight on at Louis._

_This gives Louis time to study Harry’s face. His eyes were a beautiful shade of green, and his lips looked soft and pink. Louis definitely felt instant attraction toward the stranger._

_Unlike before, Harry now looked more confident which Louis found kinda sexy._

_“So Louis,” he starts out. “Even though you were a rookie just last year you have proven that you are clearly a force to be reckoned with. Besides the record breaking stats you have put up, you also have demonstrated unexpected leadership.”_

_Harry’s deep voice echoes in the room, causing goosebumps to form on Louis’s skin._

_“Wow thanks for the compliments, but is there a question in there somewhere?” Louis asks cheekily, making everyone chuckle including Harry._

_Louis watches a smirk grow on Harry’s face, which he had never found attractive on guys until now. “Well as we all know Ramsey is retiring in a few years. Will you be willing to take his spot as captain?”_

_A few snorts from other journalists are heard right away and even Louis raises his eyebrows in surprise._

_Ramsey was the best captain Arsenal has ever produced and so for Harry to ask Louis, a second year player to take his spot, was almost ridiculous._

_“Wow I’m flattered you would even ask that but there are far more experienced and disciplined players on the team that would make for excellent captains. I don’t think I could ever fill that role,” Louis said bashfully._

_It was rare for anyone to make Louis feel like this. Usually Louis was confident or boastful, he never showed vulnerability, but of course this beautiful green eyed man changed all of that._

_“And why not?” Harry asks with genuine curiosity._

_Louis fidgets with his fingers in front of him, not used to talking about himself like this. “You know I’m still new to the league and I’m still that ‘new arrogant young forward’ that everyone titles me as. I don’t think Arsenal would put someone like me in charge,” Louis adds a chuckle at the end._

_Harry doesn’t laugh, instead he decides to push on. “Well anyone who thinks that is stupid and blind,” Louis widens his eyes at Harry’s bluntness. “You’re an amazing player but on top of that you are a great leader. I see you on the sidelines and every time you open your mouth, you have your team’s full attention.” Harry was getting off topic but he didn’t seem to care. “And the thing about you being arrogant…well I can’t really argue with that,” Harry jokes, making Louis laugh._

_For a moment they just stare at one another and Louis forgets about everyone else in the room. It felt like it was just Harry and him. Louis barely knew the man but for some odd reason he feels like he has known him for years._

_After a few seconds of staring, Louis feels his agent nudge his arm, signaling to wrap it up._

_Louis shakes himself out of his trance. “Well Harry it was nice meeting you and I’ll uh think about what you said.”_

_“Promise?” Harry looks at him earnestly._

_Where in the world did this man come from?_

_Louis grins at him. “I promise.” That seemed to appease Harry as a smile was painted on his face._

_Louis stands up and says his goodbyes to the rest of the group but can’t help but glance back over to Harry. Their eyes meet once again and Harry waves him goodbye with a small smile and disappears in the crowd_

_Louis tries to follow him with his eyes but there is too much going on and there are people pushing him out the room._

_In the locker room Louis doesn’t acknowledge anyone, he just walks to his locker and sits on the bench. He can feel people slapping his shoulder in congratulations but he just brushes it off._

_“Tommo we’re going out to the pub to celebrate, you in?” Liam asks._

_Louis doesn’t respond and just stares at his locker, lost in thought. Liam studies him carefully making sure Louis was okay._

_“Lou? Is everything okay?” Liam asks, trying to figure out why his best mate wasn’t talking to him._

_After a minute of Louis not responding, Liam gets concerned and calls Niall over._

_Niall walks over to the pair. “Tommo what’s going on? Why aren’t you talking?” Niall taps him on the shoulder, trying to get him out of the trance he was in._

_“Do you guys believe in love at first sight?” Louis asks randomly, making the other two raise their eyebrows._

_“Strange question but I do believe in something of the sort I guess,” Liam answers hesitantly._

_“Can you explain?” Louis pushes for more._

_Liam sighs but ultimately does what Louis asks. “I just think it’s possible for you to meet someone for the first time and have an instant connection with them. It’s rare but it happened with my mom and dad so that’s proof to me that it’s real.”_

_“What’s up with the sudden interest in love? I thought you were living that bachelor life right now?” Niall decides to ask._

_Louis hates to admit it but that has been his life style for a couple months now. But to be fair Louis was acting like any other 19 year old would be if they just signed a million dollar contract._

_Which included partying, clubbing and sleeping around. But for some reason meeting Harry made him want to change all of that._

_“I think I might have met someone?” Louis quickly backtracks. “I mean I don’t know, he was just some guy with really pretty eyes. But for some reason I felt something there you know like a spark, or whatever those people say in the movies.”_

_This makes Niall and Liam a little more interested. “So did you get this bloke’s number?”_

_Louis sadly shakes his head no._

_“And why the hell not?”_

_“Because I was being rushed out! And when I turned back he wasn’t there anymore.” Louis pouts, unable to suppress it._

_All of a sudden he is being hauled up from the bench and pushed toward the exit. “Then why are you sitting on your ass for?” Niall pushes him out the door. “Go find your boy.”_

_Before Louis could process what was even happening the locker room door closes in his face. Things like this makes Louis question why he had to make those two his best mates. But at the same time they had a point; he shouldn’t let someone like Harry walk away._

_Louis jogs through the hallways to try to find Harry. He probably looked like a mad man, since he still had his sweaty uniform and cleats on._

_The building was big, so Louis was very unconfident in finding him, but he was also desperate. Louis turned every corner and checked in every hallway._

_He even went to a spot where journalist seem to hang out at but all he got were people screaming at him and flashes of cameras._

_After turning into his 3rd dead-end, Louis let out a sigh and decides to turn back around. Louis had ran out of places to check and makes the decision to give up._

_Who was he kidding? He barely knew the man. Louis didn’t even know if this Harry liked men or not._

_Louis drops his head down and trudges his way back to the locker room to change out of his disgusting uniform._

_As he is passing by a bathroom, he hears what sounds like yelling from inside._

_Louis pauses and decides to investigate the noise._

_“Help! Anyone please I’m stuck in here!” A voice from the bathroom yells out._

_Louis furrows his eyebrows and enters the bathroom to try to help whoever was yelling._

_“Hello? Did you say you needed help?” Louis looks around the bathroom and sees a pair of feet under one of the stalls._

_“Oh thank god! I’ve been stuck here for 20 minutes now.”_

_And Louis definitely knew that deep slow voice._

_“Harry?”_

_“Uh yeah, who are you?” Louis could hear the confusion in his voice._

_Louis was kinda embarrassed that he already memorized the sound of his voice from just one conversation. “Oh it’s Louis Tomlinson. The guy you just interviewed.”_

_Louis clarified just in case Harry didn’t actually have a clue who he was._

_“I know who you are Louis,” Harry knocks his head against the stall. “Well this is just great. I get stuck in the bathroom stall and the person who finds me is a fit football player.”_

_Louis smirks. “You think I’m fit?”_

_Harry groans. “This is not the time! Just get me out of here please! And wipe that smirk off your face, I can hear it in your voice.”_

_Louis can’t contain the laugh that comes out. “Alright, here’s what we are going to do. You are going to push against the door while I pull the handle from out here. I’m hoping this will pry it open.”_

_“Alright sounds good. On a count of three.”_

_Louis grabs hold of the handle with a firm grip, ready to pull on it._

_“1…2…3!”_

_As Louis pulls the handle, the door thankfully opens. But as it opens Harry stumbles out and runs straight into Louis._

_Louis stumbles backwards and lands against the sinks with Harry clinging to his chest._

_“Oops.”_

_Louis looks down and finds himself staring at those same green eyes he became obsessed with._

_“Hi.”_

_Harry’s hands were hanging on to the front of Louis’s shirt and Louis’s hands were clutching his narrow waist. If this was anyone else Louis would put as much distance between them as possible but all he wanted to do was pull him closer._

_Harry was the first to pull away. He backs up making sure there was a good distanced gap between them._

_Now that Harry was right in front of him, Louis notices the very evident height difference between them._

_“Uh thank you so much,” Harry coughs awkwardly._

_“I didn’t think I would find you,” Louis in disbelief, letting the words slip out of his mouth._

_“You were trying to find me?” Harry asks in confusion._

_Louis blushes. “Oh uh yeah. I just wanted to talk to you about something.”_

_Harry waits for Louis to continue and when he doesn’t, he chuckles. “Well what is it?”_

_Louis gulps and wrings his hands together nervously. He has never been like this around anyone before and he did not enjoy it. “I-I just wanted to say thank you for the things you said out there. It’s good to know not everyone thinks I’m a spoiled party boy.”_

_Harry smiles kindly at him. “Well you are-”_

_“Hey!” Louis said affronted._

_“-but that’s not all you are.” Harry continues. “You are an incredible person from what I have read about. You’ve done charity matches, fundraisers and more charity work than most people your age have done. Those things don’t go unnoticed.”_

_Louis snorts. “Ha, maybe you should run that by the other news outlets.” Louis looks down at the bathroom tile._

_“Look people like to focus on the drama. As long as you know who you are then that’s all that matters.”_

_Louis sighs sadly. “I wish I could just forget about what they think about me but it’s just hard you know.”_

_Louis doesn’t know why he is opening up to this total stranger in a public restroom but somehow it feels normal._

_“I know, but you just have to ignore them. Maybe sort out all the fake news and focus on what actually is true,” Harry suggests._

_“So are you suggesting I should just read up on your work then?” Louis teases._

_Harry shrugs his shoulders. “Well I do pride myself on my honesty and integrity.” He smiles proudly._

_Louis decides it’s now or never. “Look I know we just met, but can I get your number? I just find you really interesting and I want to get to know you more.” Louis rethinks what he just says and realizes how crazy he sounds. “I-I mean only if you want to. Don’t feel pressured to give me your number just because it’s me. I just think you’re a really nice guy and you’re also kind of cute but I don’t even know if you like blokes or not-I should really stop talking now.”_

_Louis stops himself before he embarrasses himself any further. Harry starts to laugh because of how flustered Louis looks._

_“First off I think we are well passed being strangers to one another. I mean you did save me from the bathroom stall,” both men giggle at that. “Secondly I do fancy guys…especially cute football players.” Harry bites his bottom lip and looks Louis up and down seductively._

_This does not help Louis’s blush that was surely covering his whole face now._

_Louis clears his throat. “Hm I might actually know a few cute football players.”_

_“Oh really now? Well then you should tell me all about them over dinner tomorrow night,” Harry says smoothly._

_Louis grins. “I would love that,” Louis hooks his arm with Harry’s and starts to lead him out the bathroom. “So tell me does your type so happen to have blue eyes, brown hair, a big arse and an enormous ego? Because I think I know the perfect candidate.”_

_\----------_

It’s been a couple of months since the divorce and Louis has gotten better. He’s not playing like shit anymore, and he isn’t crying every time he sleeps in bed alone. He counts that as a win.

The media have practically forgotten about their divorce and now are focusing on some other new scandal. Which Louis doesn’t mind one bit, just feels bad for whoever is on the receiving end of that coverage.  

The kids are still a little awkward when both their parents are in the same room, but that’s expected. Harry is doing okay, probably even better than Louis. The kids even informed him that Harry has been more relaxed and has been taking yoga lessons.

Louis had no idea how to react to that information. Of course he was happy that Harry was healthy and living his life. It's just an uneasy feeling knowing Harry was happy without him in his life.

Since the divorce, Louis has been trying to focus on spending more time with his children. If he learned anything from the divorce it’s that he has been neglecting time with his kids. It’s just too bad that he had to get a divorce to realize it.

But other than being separated from the love of his life, everything else was okay.

“Beck angle your foot more to the right when you strike the ball!” Louis instructs his son.

Louis decided to take his kids out of the house and away from the electronics. The kids these days are so invested in their phones that they barely get to see daylight. Louis did not want his children to follow the trend.

It was a rare gorgeous warm day in London so Louis took them to the park.

Beck nods his head and lines up his kick like Louis taught him to. Beckham kicks the ball and it lands right into the net.

“That’s it bud!” Louis says proudly.

Even at a young age Louis could see Beckham’s potential in football. Louis was kinda relieved as well since he did name him after one of his favorite footballers.

“Thank you dad,” Beck runs over and gives him a hug. “Can’t wait to show coach.”

“He still giving you a hard time?”

Beck looks at his dad with a bored expression. “Dad he’s a Chelsea fan. Of course he’s still giving me a hard time,” Beckham says like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“Well that’s the price you pay for being my son,” Louis pats him on the shoulder. “But if he’s really bothering you I can have a chat with him.”

Beckham immediately shakes his head. “No it’s okay. I’m the best striker on the team and he knows it,” Beck says cockily. Like father, like son.

Louis smiles at his son like the proud father he is. “That’s my boy.”

Louis and Beckham collect their gear and make their way over to the swing set where Olivia and Mila are. 

Olivia was gently pushing Mila on the swings, while Mila giggled every time she swung into the air. Louis takes out his phone and snaps a photo because _he is_ a dad.

Mila is suddenly aware of her big brother’s presence and squeals. She always did have a short attention span.

“Beck!” Mila makes grabby hands at Beckham and he easily lifts her up into his arms.

Beckham shoots Olivia a smug look. “Well at least we know who Mila’s favorite is.”

“Oh shut up Beck,” Olivia grumbles.

Louis looks at all his three kids and wonders how he got so lucky. When he was young, he always wanted to have children and now to actually have some of his own is the best feeling in the world.

Even during the divorce, his kids always were there to cheer him up.

“So kids,” Louis finally speaks up. “How about we go get some food and head home for the day?”

All his children nod their heads and start to shout out some suggestions for a place to eat.

As Olivia and Beckham start to argue about what they want to eat, Mila starts pointing at something over Beckham’s shoulder.

“Papa!” Mila shouts out, clearly excited to see her other father.

Louis follows her gaze and there was Harry walking toward them from across the field. Harry spots Mila’s excitement from where he was, and his face breaks out in a wide smile. Louis hates to admit it but he wishes that smile was directed at him.  

Even from far away, Harry was absolutely stunning. All he was wearing were basketball shorts and a white tee, but Louis had realized he has a thing for Harry in casual clothes.

As much as Louis likes admiring his ex-husband, he was a little confused on why Harry was here since Louis still had the kids till tomorrow.   

Because of Mila’s squirming, Beckham let’s her down and she wobbles her way over to Harry. Harry scoops her up and cuddles her tightly against his chest.

“Hi there Mila, you miss me?” Harry smacks a kiss on her cheek, causing her to laugh. Harry proceeds to greet everyone else with a kiss, except Louis of course.

Louis was still standing there confused on why he was there. “Hi Harry, what are you doing here?”

One of Harry’s eyebrows goes up. “Here to take the kids to their dentist appointment,” he frowns. “I told Beckham and Olivia to let you know.”

Both parents look over to their two eldest children who were all of a sudden so fascinated with the grass under their feet.

“We kind of forgot to tell dad,” Olivia admits. “We were just having so much fun we kind of forgot about it.”

Louis felt a sense of accomplishment that his kids were enjoying themselves during their time with him. But his confusion had yet to go away.

“Dentist appointment? How come you didn’t just ask me to take them?” Louis asks Harry.

Harry doesn’t respond right away instead he tells the kids to go play so they could talk alone.

The children look between their parents warily but ultimately choose to leave, knowing all too well that their parents are most likely going to argue once again. 

Beckham takes Mila from Harry and leads his siblings away from their parents.

“I didn’t ask you because I know you Louis,” Harry starts talking when the kids are out of hearing range.

Louis crosses his arms defensively. “And what does that mean?”

“It means that I know you would have messed up somehow, either with paperwork or being late or even forgetting about the whole appointment all together,” Harry said with no hesitation.

Louis suddenly had a surge of anger run through him. Harry can't just assume that he would "mess up". 

If Harry had problems trusting Louis with this, then it makes him wonder if Harry has always had problems trusting him.

Trust was something Louis and Harry prided themselves as a couple, so hearing Harry say he didn't trust Louis to take the kids to their appointments, was really disappointing.

“Wow don’t hold back now H,” Louis said sarcastically. “Look I might not be the most responsible person but I think I am able to take my _own_ kids to their damn dentist appointment.”

Louis moves to go but is quickly stopped by Harry who grabs him by the arm. “Louis I didn’t-“

“No,” Louis interrupts him and snatches his arm back. “If you can’t even trust me with our kids then it makes me wonder if you have ever trusted me at all.”

Louis says finality and walks away, without looking back.  

\----------

Louis was beyond pissed off. After their argument, Louis could not keep the anger and frustration from bubbling up. Maybe Louis was being over dramatic but having someone who was basically your soul mate tell you they didn’t trust you, was heartbreaking.

“It’s just so fucking frustrating you know?” Louis runs up and kicks the ball a little too hard, making it fly into the bleachers.

Niall and Liam both let out exasperated sighs. It was the third ball Louis had let go and they knew they were going to be the ones who had to go get them.

This is how Louis lets out his anger. He would just start playing football to help distract his mind. Mostly it would work but for some reason Louis wasn’t feeling any better.

“Lou we understand that you’re upset,” Liam starts, kicking a new ball toward Louis. “Harry was being a bit harsh but he has a bit of a point you know,” Liam says the last part quietly but Louis still catches it.

Louis stops dribbling the ball and looks straight at his friend. “Save it Liam. I do not want to hear it.”

“But Lou-“

Louis quickly cuts him off from speaking any further. “Niall get into the goal please.”

Niall complies easily and secures his gloves over his hands. “Do you wanna know what I think about all this?”

Louis kicks the ball, angling for the top right corner of the net but it’s easily blocked by Niall. “No I’m good. Throw the ball back.”

Niall rolls his eyes and passes the ball, landing right at Louis’ feet. “I just think that you and Harry need to talk. You’re not the same guy you were Louis. You have to show Harry the new you.”

Louis kicks the ball again this time making it pass Niall. “Why? I don’t want anything to do with him. I have nothing to prove to him.”

“But you guys used to be in love,” Liam said, like it was a valid explanation.

“Yeah _used_ to be. Me and Harry were just stupid and young and got into it too quickly,” Louis grabs a new ball and starts to line up his kick again.

Niall stands there shaking his head. “You two were soul mates. I have never seen two people like that get on so well so quickly.”

Louis clenches his fists by his side. “Can we stop talking about this? Harry and I are over. I just want to forget about all of it.”

“You don’t mean that.”

Louis gives Niall an exasperated look. “I do. Thinking about him is too painful.”

“I’m telling ya, you two need to sit down and talk,” Niall puts his hands up ready to block Louis’s kick.

“That’s not happening.” Louis backs up for a good run up. “If we are alone for even 5 minutes we might kill each other.”

Niall shrugs his shoulder. “You don’t know that, maybe you two will make up. I heard angry sex is always-OOF”

Niall falls to his knees clutching his stomach where Louis had kicked the ball. Whoops.

Liam and Louis run over to Niall’s side, trying to make sure he was alright.

“You’re an absolute dick,” Niall grunts out.

“I didn’t mean it! I’m so sorry Niall,” Louis apologizes, feeling bad that he hurt his best friend. “Are you okay?”

Niall looks up at him with teary eyes. “Does it look like I am okay? I just got hit in the gut by a ball kicked by Louis fucking Tomlinson!”

“Honestly that was a great kick Lou. Wish you could kick like that in a real game,” Liam says snidely.

Louis smacks him on the shoulder. “Shut up, can’t you see Niall is in pain right now?”

“Yeah and who’s fault is that?” Liam retorts back.

Before Louis can talk back, Niall lets out another groan, causing both men to revert their attention back on their friend.

“What hurts Niall? Do you think you need a hospital?”

“No what I need right now is a drink and Louis is buying,” Niall points at Louis and gets up slowly. “Also remind me not to get into the goal while you’re an emotional mess.”

\----------

Like Niall requested Louis had bought him drinks at their local pub. The pub was their usual hang out spot. The three friends had discovered it when they were in a desperate need of some drinks and this was the nearest one they found.

The pub was not at all amazing. It was old, dingy, dusty but most importantly empty. The owner, Richard, was an older gentleman and really had no idea about football so he did not blink an eye when three Arsenal players walked in. Whenever they needed a break from everything this is where they found themselves.

“Why can’t you just be a normal person and drink your problems instead of hitting you friends in the gut!”

Louis lays his head on the counter. “It was an accident Niall!”

“I don’t know Louis it looked intentional to me.” Liam sips his drink.

“If it was intentional I would have aimed a little lower,” Louis mumbles against the wood.

Richard decides to come at the moment. “What are you three arguing about now?”

“Louis kicked me in the gut with a football because he doesn’t know how to deal with his emotions,” Niall said grumpily. Louis could even hear the pout in his voice.

Louis picks up his head and glares at the Irishman. “You try going through a divorce with someone you have three children with.”

Richard lays another glass in front of Louis. “Seems like you need another drink lad,” he pours Louis another drink. “I went through a divorce as well you know.”

Louis gladly takes the drink. “Sorry to hear that Richard.”

“Don’t be. She and I eventually got back together. It took us a while to figure out that we were the only ones for each other. Now I don’t think I can be apart from her more than a day.”

“So what, you two just forgot all about the divorce?” Louis asks curiously.

Richard shakes his head. “No, more like the divorce made me realize what a complete idiot I was for letting her go. If we never got a divorce we would just be unhappy for the rest of our lives.”

Louis considers what he says for a minute. “So what you’re saying is the divorce was a blessing in disguise?”

“You could say that. Now don’t get me wrong the whole divorce phase was a living hell but it was worth it at the end.”

Louis downs his whole drink and tries to process everything Richard told him. He always thought divorce was a bad thing but maybe there’s more to it.

“Thank you Richard for telling me that. Puts a new perspective on this whole thing for me.”

“You’ll get through this Louis," Richard reaches over the counter and pats him on the shoulder. "Now if you'll excuse me I have other customers to attend to."

Louis watches Richard greet a new customer and starts making a drink for him.

 _“Good evening football fans!”_ The sound of Nick’s voice crackles through the TV.

All three boys automatically turn their heads toward the televsion.

 _“Tonight we have a special guest with us!_ _We have somehow convinced ‘the’ Harry Styles to come out from the comfort of his own home, to join us here in the studio!”_

Louis automatically tenses at the name.

“Hey Richard where’s your remote?” Liam asks, ready to change the channel.

“No, leave it. I’m not bothered,” Louis says nonchalantly but keeps his eyes on the counter.

Liam looks at him with doubt but decides to leave it alone.

 _“So what are your thoughts on the FA Cup? Any predictions on who might take the cup home?”_ Nick asks Harry.

_“A bit too soon to make any predictions but I do have a team that I have high hopes for.”_

_“Alright please share your thoughts with the rest of us Mr. Styles.”_

Louis still hasn’t turned to face the TV but he was tuned in to everything Harry was saying.

_“It might seem like a shocker but I’m gonna go with Arsenal.”_

Louis almost spits out the drink in his mouth. He finally looks up at the TV with wide eyes.

_“Arsenal? Wow going with the underdogs I see. Wanna explain?”_

_“_ It’s because we’re fucking awesome mate,” Niall answers Nick aloud, making Louis and Liam chuckle.

 _“I just think they got a great group of guys this season,”_ Harry starts to explain _. “Their rookies are looking strong and they have great veterans that they look up to. I’m liking the dynamic going on there right now.”_

 _“But you have to acknowledge their captain has been a little bit distracted,”_ Nick interjects.

Louis keeps a straight face but can feel himself tighten his grip on the glass in his hand. Liam and Niall look over to him in concern.

 _“That was months ago,”_ Harry shifts in his chair awkwardly _. “The recent game they played against Leeds was brilliant. Tomlinson looked strong out there and his team was fully behind him.”_

_“I don’t know Harry. Arsenal is a hard team to bet on when I can’t even trust their captain.”_

Louis watches Harry struggle for an answer and that was enough for Louis to get out of his seat.

“Lou where are you going?” Niall calls after him.

“Going home. I need some sleep.”

Before Louis could leave out the door, he hears Harry’s voice come back through the speakers. Louis takes a chance and glances back at the television.

 _“I trust Louis,”_ Harry looks into the camera as if he was speaking directly at him _. “I believe he can even take his team all the way to the finals. I have never lost my trust in him.”_

Louis bites his bottom lip and stares at the man in the television.

 _“So don’t count Arsenal out yet,”_ Harry winks at the camera, making Louis smile a bit.

_“We sure won’t Harry. Now let’s talk about Manchester United’s-“_

“I told you boys I don’t fancy football,” Richard switches the channel to the news. “This is more like it. Keep up to date with real news instead of men kicking a ball around.”

Louis chuckles at the little old man. He should take offence on that, but all he feels is amusement. “You’re right Richard, it’s just a silly game.”

Liam and Niall both snort in their drinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed! I'm gonna try to update every week but don't hold me to that! Please give me your feedback and tell me how you're liking the fic so far! Till next Chapter, Ciao;)  
> -DJN


	3. Mistakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PREVIEW  
> “This is the exact reason why I didn’t want you to find out! I knew you were gonna take the piss out of me.”
> 
> “Well of course I am! You fucked a random girl because you don’t know how to control your emotions!”
> 
> At this point Harry was right in front of Louis, yelling in his face. “Fuck you Harry,” Louis says through clenched teeth.
> 
> WARNING: Mention of Panic Attacks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooo! I'm sorry that this took a while to get up! So much for posting every week huh? But here it is and I hope you guys enjoy it!  
> Have fun reading!
> 
> ~DJN

Friday’s were Louis’s favorite days since he got to pick up Olivia and Beckham from school. It doesn't sound that exciting but with everything going on in Louis’s life, any type of normalcy was valued, and picking up his kids from school was as normal as it could get.

Louis found it endearing when his kids would complain to him about a bad grade or some new teenage drama. Sometimes Louis wouldn’t even be paying attention to what they’re saying, he mostly would just focus on how bright their faces got when they spoke. It was one of his favorite things about being a dad.

Right now Louis was currently inside his car, parked in the pick-up lane with the rest of the parents. He decided to use the Range Rover because the convertible was too small for Mila’s new car seat. Louis had to buy a new one for her a few weeks ago since she grew out the one she had.

His little girl was growing up too fast and Louis didn’t know how to feel.

“Dadda look, Ellie can fly!”

Louis looks back and watches Mila swing "ellie", her stuffed elephant, in the air.

That elephant was the first thing they gave her when she became part of the family. Mila’s face lit up as soon as Harry had placed the stuff animal in her arms. After that day Mila had to have the elephant with her everywhere she went.

It was quite a dilemma this morning because Harry forgot to bring the elephant when he dropped her off. Mila would not stop crying until Harry drove all the way back to retrieve the stuffed animal. It was really odd for Harry to forget something like that.

In fact Harry looked to be all over the place this morning. He seemed to be in rush and didn’t even stay to chat with Louis like he usually does.

Louis also noticed that Harry wasn’t wearing his usual t-shirt and sweat pants. Instead he was wearing his black skinny jeans and a tight fitted button up, with the top three unbuttoned like he always has.

Louis couldn’t get his eyes off of him but he also couldn’t help but think who was he dressing up for because it certainly wasn’t for him.  

The dismissal bell chimes and students start pushing their way out the door. Beckham and Olivia were one of the first ones out and they spot the car almost immediately.

“How was school kids?” Louis asks as they get in.

“Awful. Ms. Reynolds took points off my presentation because she said I was lacking information,” Olivia grumbles. “I think it’s because she doesn’t like me.”

Louis laughs at that. “I’m sure that’s not it Liv. Teachers can be picky when it comes to presentations. Back when I was in school my geography teacher would take off points for every grammar mistake we made."

School was never Louis’s strong suit. He was always focused on football and barely paid attention in class. In fact his teachers would always say he would never amount to anything.

But fortunately Louis got to prove those people wrong when he got drafted to Arsenal at only 18 years old.

“Luckily for me I don’t have to worry about school in a few more years,” Beckham chimes in.

Louis quirks his eyebrow at him. “Oh? Why’s that?”

“I’m gonna be drafted by a premier league team like you were dad. No more school once I hit the big leagues,” Beckham said cockily, sounding like a young Louis.

Louis chuckles fondly. “I like your confidence son, but you need a back-up plan just in case it doesn’t work out.”

“Did you have a back-up plan?”

Louis grins at the thought. “Of course I did. Your grandma Jay was very insistent that I have one. She threatened to give away my football gear if I didn't."

Beckham lets out a sigh. “I guess I should come up with my own back-up plan too then.”

Louis hums in agreement, but in the back of his mind he knew Beckham wouldn't have to fall on a back-up plan. His son is already better than him when he was his age so Louis was very confident in him.

Once it was clear to move, Louis backs out of the pick-up lane and starts to make his way back home.

The car was mostly quiet except for the sound of his kid’s thumbs tapping on their phones. The sound was starting to irritate Louis.

He clears his throat and straighten up his back in the chair. “So kids, how is your Papa doing?”

“Didn’t you see him when he dropped off Mila?” Olivia asks without looking up from her phone.

“Yeah but he seemed to be in a rush. Did he have something to do this morning?” Louis lets his curiosity get the better of him.

Olivia pauses her texting and looks over to her brother who was already staring at her. Because of the pause Louis glances back to see why it was so quiet.

“What’s up guys?” Louis asks a little concerned.

Olivia snaps her eyes over to her dad. “Uh nothing. I think papa had some work thing that he had to do.”

Louis was not convinced. He knew when his kids were lying. “Do not lie to me Olivia Rose Tomlinson,” he says in a stern tone.

“I don’t think I should tell you,” Olivia looks down at her lap. “But since you’re asking...Papa told us he has a date today.”

And that’s exactly what Louis was afraid of. Louis automatically tightens his hands on the steering wheel, trying to keep himself from exploding.

He knew Harry wouldn't stay single forever but knowing that he was out with someone other than him, really made him sick. 

Louis takes a deep breath to try to calm his pulse. “With who?”

“Olivia do not tell him,” Beckham instructs his sister.

“Look I don’t care who it is, I’m just curious,” Louis explains nonchalantly. “Olivia go ahead and tell me.”

Olivia hesitates but decides to answer him, not wanting to upset her dad even more. “Nick.”

As soon as Louis registers what she said, he almost hits the car in front of him. He swerves to the next lane just avoiding a collision.

“I told you not to tell him!” Beck yells at Olivia.

“He deserves to know Beckham!”

Louis turns into an empty parking lot and parks the car. He was not in the right state of mind to be driving right now. Louis slumps back in his seat and runs his hands over his face.

Nick. He was seeing Nick fucking Grimshaw. Harry could have picked anyone but he decided to pick the one man Louis couldn’t stand being around.

Louis honestly was not surprised that Nick jumped on the opportunity to go out with Harry after the divorce. Nick has always had a thing for Harry, even when he was a married man. Louis even told Harry, but he brushed him aside and said he was just being paranoid.

What did surprise him though was that Harry actually agreed to go on a date with Nick. Harry would always say, Nick was just his best friend and nothing more. 

Now Louis was having his doubts.

Louis feels a small hand on his shoulder. “Dad are you okay?” Beckham asks cautiously.

Great now his kids probably think he’s crazy. Louis nods his head. “Yeah, I just need time to think. I’m sorry if I scared you guys.”

“It’s okay dad. We’re sorry for upsetting you. We know how you feel about Nick.”

“No it’s honestly okay,” Louis smiles back at them. “It was just…a shock. Thank you for letting me know. Now how about we get some ice cream?”

Louis sits back up and turns on the ignition.

“That sounds great dad,” Beckham smiles at him.

“How about you Mila? You up for it?” Louis turns around to look at her.

“Yes ice cream!” Mila babbles, waving her elephant above her head excitedly.

Yes, ice cream always made things better.

\----------

Turns out ice cream did not make _everything_ better.

Louis was still hung up on the fact Harry is going out with Nick. Just the thought makes him nauseous.

The only remedy Louis could think of was alcohol.

Louis was not one for drinking, especially when he had his kids with him but he really needed to get wasted. So he called up Niall and Liam.

“Louis you said we were gonna be making cookies with the kids!” Niall points his finger accusingly at Louis.

“ _You_ are, I’m just gonna go out while you guys make them.” Louis shrugs on his jacket and fixes his fringe in the mirror.

“Do you really think getting plastered is gonna solve your problems?” Liam asks him.

Louis dwells on the answer before nodding his head. “Actually yes. I mean isn’t that what Niall suggested for me to do?”

Niall looks at him unimpressed. “I was joking, you dick.”

“Well I’m not, so stop babying me and let me leave.”

Niall crosses his arms. “How about your kids? What did you tell them?”

Louis sighs. “I told them coach wanted to talk to me about something important. Please don’t tell them the truth. I don’t need them to start worrying about me."

Louis hates lying to his children but he had to get out. He couldn’t stay inside, pretending that everything was alright.

“Lou,” Liam whines. “Please just stay here. We can even go out to the pitch so you can let off some steam. I just don’t want you doing anything stupid,” he pleads one more time.

“Look stop your worrying. I’ll be back before 12. I promise I won’t get _that_ wasted,” Louis pats them on the head and leaves out the door.

 

A few hours later Louis wakes up in an unfamiliar bed with a pounding headache. Louis squints open his eyes, and winces at the incoming light.

As Louis tries to move he feels a weight on his chest and discovers someone was lying on top of him. And to his surprise it wasn’t a man. Louis hasn’t slept with the opposite sex since his first and only girlfriend in secondary.

He slowly peels himself away and quickly pulls on his clothes. Louis felt like he was gonna throw up and it wasn’t because of the liquor.

The girl in the bed was sound asleep and Louis instantly felt bad. Louis got a piece of a paper and left a note explaining how sorry he was.

Louis placed the note on the side table and left out her door.

When Louis managed to get into a taxi, he opened his phone which was full of missed calls and texts. Almost all of them were from Liam and Niall.

1:30 am

_Liam: Lou its past 12 where are you?_

_Liam: this isn’t funny where the hell are you??_

2:00 am

_Liam: I saw your snap Lou. Please come home._

1:30 am

_Niall: Liam is freaking out over here. Mind checking in? Btw the cookies turned out great :)_

1:50 am

_Niall: Okay Lou I’m actually getting worried. Where are you??_

_Niall: the kids are asleep. Liam and I will stay with them. Just please be safe._

6:00 am

_Niall: morning Lou. Things are crazy right now. Looks like paps were at the club last night. Call us._

Louis curses under his breath. They probably have pictures of him looking like hell with that girl hanging off him.

Before Louis shuts off his phone, there is one more unread message and Louis hovers his thumb over it, trying to decide if he should even read it.

Louis takes a deep breath and clicks on the message.

_ 6:30 am _

_Harry: I’m coming over._

Just reading those three words, caused shivers to travel down Louis’s spine. Louis shuts off his phone and tries to mentally prepare himself for what’s to come.

 

This is bad. Like really fucking bad. Louis was sat on the sofa with Liam and Niall who were cuddling him from both sides. He was nursing a cup of coffee in his hands and his eyes were glued to the TV screen.

There were pictures of him leaving the club with the girl and they both were clearly intoxicated. The paps even managed to get a shot of them making out in the car.

The gossips channels and all the news outlets were on top of it. They were currently showing clips from Louis’s snapchat last night, which he immediately deleted. Louis didn’t even know he had a snapchat.  

But what was worse is since Louis went home with a woman people are now questioning his sexuality. They are accusing him of queer baiting, saying he has been “pretending to be gay” to bring publicity to Arsenal.

Some even had the nerve to bring Harry and their kids into this. Louis had to sit there and listen to these reporters tell him that his own family was part of this whole big conspiracy theory.

Louis finally had enough and shuts off the television.

“I fucked up so bad guys,” Louis swallows down his tears. He has been trying not to cry since he got home.

Niall gently rubs his back. “It’ll be okay Lou. We called your agent to try to get everything under control.”

“Shit I need to call coach. He’s gonna murder me,” Louis frantically searches for his phone.

Liam grabs at his hands. “Hey no need. We already called. He wasn’t pissed, just worried. He wants you to call him back when you’re okay to talk.”

Louis relaxes back into the sofa. “You guys are the best people in my life. I don’t know how I would be living without you.” Louis tucks his face into Liam’s neck.

“Stop being so sappy,” Niall chuckles. “We still love you even when you make stupid mistakes.”

“I should have listened to you guys,” Louis sniffles. “You told me to stay in but no I had to be a stubborn ass.”

The three men were suddenly alarmed when they heard footsteps coming from the hallway.

Louis wipes his face dry and tries to make himself look like he hasn’t had the worst morning in his life. By the time he turned around, he is greeted by both his oldest children.

“Good morning kiddos,” Niall says brightly, trying to distract them from their obviously distraught father.

Olivia ignores the Irishman and focuses her attention on Louis with an unreadable expression written on her face. “Morning dad. Did you take care of everything with coach last night?” She asks, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Louis looks at her with a confused expression but quickly masks it once he realizes what she was talking about. “Oh, yeah I took care of that. It took longer than expected.” Louis instantly felt bad for lying to them.

“Well did it require you to get drunk and go home with some random lady?” Olivia spits out with a tone, that Louis has only heard from Harry.

“Liv!” Beck elbows her to make her stop talking.

“What?” Olivia frowns. “He looked like he was having a good time. Why don’t you tell us all about it dad?”

Louis visibly gulps. “H-How did you guys find out?”

“Hm I don’t know. Maybe because it’s all over the news or maybe it’s because 10 of my friends and even my boyfriend texted me pics of you with that girl!” Olivia says with bitterness laced in her voice.

Louis was too stunned to speak. He has never seen his daughter so upset because of him.

“Olivia I-I’m so sorry. I’m sorry to all you. It was a stupid mistake,” Louis tries apologizing.

“Everyone is talking about it dad. Their saying I’m not even your daughter! How could you let this happen!?” Olivia stomps her way back to her room, with tears at the corners of her eyes.

Louis gets up to go after her but Liam stops him. “I’ll take care of it Lou.” Liam pats his leg and goes after Olivia.

Louis sits back down and put his head in his hands. He never made his children cry before. What kind of father was he?

“It’s okay dad,” Beckham sits down next to him. “You’re sorry so that’s all that matters. Liv will get over it, she’s just upset right now.”

“Beck I’m so sorry for all of this,” Louis mumbles into his hands.

“Maybe if we didn’t tell you about Nick, this wouldn’t have happened,” Beckham thinks aloud.

Louis brings his head back up and looks at his son with determination. “Hey do not blame yourselves. This is my mistake and my mistake only. Of course I was upset when you guys told me but I should have handled it better than I did.”

“Yeah I would have let you hit me in the gut one more time if that would have helped,” Niall speaks up, effectively lightening up the mood.

Both Louis and Beckham start to laugh. Louis is very lucky to have the friends he has.

Suddenly there was crying from the hallway that catches their attention.

“Looks like Mila is awake. I’ll go take care of her,” Louis stands up and makes his way to her room.”

When he gets there, Mila was in her bed with a wet and red face from crying.

Louis smiles down at her and picks her up.

“Shhh its okay, daddy is here. Stop you crying darling,” Louis gently rocks her in his arms. “Hey you’re not mad at me right?”

Mila just sniffles and buries her face into his neck.

“It’s okay. I’m not going to disappoint you guys ever again. I promise.” Louis kisses her on the side of her head.

As Louis is rocking her back to sleep, he hears the front door slam open.

“Where is he?!”

Louis could recognize that deep baritone voice anywhere. Just hearing his voice caused goosebumps to form on Louis's skin.

It was 7 am and he had a hangover; An angry Harry was the last thing he needed right now.

“Mila I need you to pray that Papa doesn’t kill daddy okay,” Louis cradles Mila closer, using her as a human shield to protect himself from his ex-husband.

Louis hears Niall trying to calm down Harry outside the door but Harry was clearly not having it. The door opens revealing a stressed out Niall and a _very_ pissed off Harry.

“Hey H,” Louis says weakly.

Harry stares him down with a death glare and starts to walk up to him. “You absolute bast-” Harry restrains himself when he sees Mila in his arms.

Harry steps back and takes a deep breath. “Louis can I talk to you outside _alone_ please,” he asks through his teeth.

“Um I think I’m fine right here actually,” Louis answers and he swears Harry turned a shade of red darker.

“Louis,” Harry says in a deeper tone than usual, making Louis’s blood turn cold.

“Fine,” Louis grumbles and reluctantly hands off Mila to Niall.

Niall gives him a sympathetic look before Louis follows Harry out like a punished child.

Harry leads them out to the balcony where they could talk in private. This was one instance where Louis wished he had someone around so they could be a witness if Harry killed him.

Louis watches Harry close the screen door. “Before you start yelling at me-“

“I cannot believe you!” Harry interrupts him anyway. “I mean really Louis! What were you even thinking!?”

Louis avoids eye contact. He doesn’t want to see the disappointment in his eyes. “I wasn’t. I knew it was a bad idea but I just needed to get out and forget about…” Louis doesn’t dare finish that sentence.

“Forget about what Louis?!” Harry insists he finish his thought.

“It’s nothing. It’s stupid.” Louis crosses his arms in front of himself defensively.

“I hate when you do this! Just talk to me Louis!” Harry’s voice was getting louder by the second. “Make me understand why you were being so fucking stupid!?”

If anything, Louis was not the kind of guy to leave his kids to go get drunk. Harry knew this, that’s why he was so shocked and confused when he heard the news.

"I know it looks bad," Louis runs his hair through his hair. "I just needed to get out of my head for a minute. But I’m okay now, I promise.”

Harry snorts. “Oh yeah after you had sex with that woman right? I bet that cleared your mind real quick.”

Louis glares at him. “Fuck you Harry. You have no idea what I was going through.”

"Then make me understand! Tell me what's going on Louis!" Harry exclaims, frustrated at Louis's stubbornness.

Louis stays quite.

Harry let's out a groan. “Fine don't tell me. But look you’re clearly not in the right mind space, so I’m going to take the kids.”

As soon as Louis registers the words, he blocks out everything around them.

Louis widens his eyes and he could feel his heart beat faster. “N-No that is not happening,” he says shakily.

“Louis just let me take them for this weekend so you can figure your shit out.”

“Hell no Harry!” Louis shouts at him, probably waking up the other neighbors. “They are my kids too! You have no right to do that!”

As soon as the mention of the kids hit, Louis was not having it. His kids were the only people in his life that made him smile no matter what. Harry was not about to take that away from him. He already took too much.

“Louis just calm down-” Harry senses notices Louis’s distress, and tries to backtrack.

“No I will not calm down!” Louis can feel tears running down his cheeks out of frustration. “These are my kids that we are talking about Harry! You cannot take them away from me. I-I only have a few days with them as it is. Please do not take them away.” At this point Louis was in hysterics, barely comprehending what he was saying. “Please, I’m sorry Harry. I-I’m so sorry,” Louis sobs out the last few words.

The whole argument was draining and Louis was exhausted. He felt like he couldn’t breathe and he was shaking uncontrollably.

Harry could tell right away he was having a panic attack and immediately huddles Louis into his arms. “Lou, babe just take a deep breath for me.”

Harry sits Louis on the floor and he sits right in front of him. Harry puts his hands on top of Louis’s shoulders, trying to get him to calm down. Louis doesn’t get much panic attacks but when he does, Harry knows exactly what to do.

“I’m not going to take the kids away from you. I promise. I’m sorry I even said that,” Harry was close to tears as well but he tried to stay strong for Louis.

Louis breathes in Harry’s scent and tries to focus on his voice. “I’m sorry Harry. I-It was a mistake.”

Harry tucks Louis’s head into his neck and pulls him in close. “Shhh its okay Lou. Let’s just forget about it.”

Harry strokes his hair and uses his other arm to secure his body against his. As much as Harry was angry at him, he didn’t like seeing Louis like this.

They sit there for a few minutes until Louis had normalized his breathing and his tears had dried up. Louis removes himself for Harry and stands up by himself.

“I uh I’m sorry I freaked out,” Louis runs his hands through his hair.

Harry stand up and brushes the dirt from his knees. “No I’m sorry for even threatening that. You’re an amazing father to our kids. I-I was just really angry.”

Louis nods his head. “Yeah I know,” he chuckles.

Harry gives him a half smile. “Look Lou whatever is happening with you, you can always tell me okay?”

His face was full of genuine concern but Louis was not about to tell him the cause for his mental breakdown was because of Nick.

Louis lays his hand on his shoulder. “Thank you Harry. I appreciate that.”

They both hold eye contact before Louis looks away. Louis could never look into those eyes for too long.

Harry clears his throat. “So I’m guessing the kids already found out?”

Louis nods his head. “Yeah Beckham forgave me but Olivia is really mad. Kids from school are giving her a hard time.”

“Olivia will forgive you. She can’t stay mad at you forever.”

Louis bites his bottom lip. “I don’t know. This is different, she has never been this mad at me before. The news is saying a bunch a shit right now since I slept with a woman."

Harry visibly tenses, but hides it well. “Speaking of which, you slept with a _woman_ ,” Harry restates with amusement in his eyes.

Louis groans in embarrassment. “I _know_. I can’t even remember going home with her. It just happened. The media is having an absolutely frenzy with this.”

Harry looks down at the floor and digs his toe into the concrete. “So was this the first person you slept with since you know…me?” There was a tinge of pink on Harry’s cheeks as he asked this.

“Yep,” Louis pops the “p”.

Harry slowly nods his head and both of them avoid eye contact after Louis’s confession.

The awkward silence is thankfully broken up when Olivia comes out. She walks out with her arms crossed and her eyes were focused anywhere but Louis.

“Hey,” Olivia greets them, and finally looks over at Louis. “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for yelling at you in there. I was just angry and upset. Also I can’t stop thinking that you did it because of me.”

Louis walks over to her and puts an arm around her. “No sweet heart this was my mistake. You had nothing to do with this.”

“I know but I’m the one who told you that-”

“No!” Louis interrupts her before she continues. Louis looks over to Harry, who was staring curiously at them. “I mean um you don’t have to apologize for that.”

Olivia looks over to Harry as well and suddenly gets it. “Oh hey papa. What are you doing here?”

“Just checking up on your dad. I was actually about to leave,” Harry kisses Olivia on the head. “I’m gonna go say bye to the others. I’ll see you later Lou.”

Harry waves them goodbye and leaves them to go inside.

“So I’m guessing you didn’t tell papa,” Olivia looks at her dad expectantly.

“No I did not and I really would appreciate it if he didn’t find out.”

“You know Nick and papa are not serious right? They only went out a few times,” Olivia informs Louis.

Louis shrugs his shoulders. “Doesn’t bother me.”

Olivia snorts. “If that were the case then we wouldn’t even be out here talking about this.” She pats her dad on the back and goes back inside.

Louis leans against the railing and tries to clear his mind from everything.

\----------

After that whole mess Louis thankfully had a few days of peace. Louis’s definition of peace was a little different from everyone else’s definition of peace. His definition involved working.

Louis loves football practice. While other viewed practice as tiresome, Louis thought of practice as a sort of happy place. He had no children that he had to take care of – except Niall since he’s still mentally a child – and he could hang out with some of his best mates.

The thing was, football wasn’t just a job to him. It was more than that. Whenever Louis ran on that pitch he didn’t feel like he was working, he was just having fun.

That is why he was in such a good mood this Monday morning. Louis was in his convertible, with the top down, blasting some good old classics.

Everything was pointing toward a good day until he pulled into the parking lot of the practice pitch.

Outside the gate were a mess of cameras and reporters. Louis tried to pull up his roof but it was too late. The reporters recognized the red convertible and ran toward him like a flock of pigeons.  

Louis slowed down, trying to avoid running anyone over. People stuck their microphones in the car, trying to get a statement from him.

“Hey get the hell out of the way!” Louis warns the group around him.

The words that were being thrown out were more intense than usual.

“Tommo how was the other night huh?”

“Was she a good shag?”

“Was she better than Harry?”

“Are you still gay mate?”

Louis ignores the questions as best as he could and tries to slowly make his way into the building.

Thankfully he gets help from security and they safely remove the remaining reporters from the car.

It takes a full minute for Louis to calm down and leave. Even though he has been in the league half of his life, he still can’t get used to that.

Louis ignores everyone as he walks into the building and walks straight into the locker room.

As soon as he flings open the door, he makes his presence known. “Alright can someone tell me why I was bombarded by a bunch of assholes with cameras out-” Louis stops midsentence when he looks up.

Inside the locker room was not just full of his teammates but also journalists.

The journalists all give him an unimpressed glare but decide to continue with whatever they were doing before Louis came in. This is why Louis had a bad rep in media.

“Sorry about that everyone. I’m sure not all of you are assholes,” Louis awkwardly announces to the room, and receives grunts from the crowd.

Louis grabs a nearby teammate by his arm. “McCain, wanna explain to me why there are rats in our locker room?” Louis whispers so he doesn’t upset the journalists any more than he already has.

“It’s media day Lou. Open practice and all that. No one told you?”

Does it look like anyone has told him? Louis shakes his head and let’s his teammate go.

“Assholes huh? I guess you married one then,” a voice chimes in from behind him.

Louis turns around with a bright smile. “You’re the very exception Haz.”

“Oh wow I’m very flattered,” Harry bats his eyes at him.

Louis shakes his head fondly. “How come you didn’t tell me you’ll be here?”

"Well we were too busy fighting for me to bring it up," Louis winces at the mention of their fight. “Also I thought you knew, since _you are_ captain.”

“Well looks like no one tells the captain shit anymore since I had no idea this was happening,” Louis grumbles, still upset that his Monday was ruined.

“Or maybe you just don’t pay attention,” Harry says cheekily.

“Smartass.”

“Dickhead.” Harry comes back immediately.

Harry and Louis both start chuckling at their childish behavior. Harry bites his bottom lip and Louis has a hard time concentrating after that. It was moments like this that gave Louis hope that there was still a chance for them.

“Well hello there Lewis.”

And it was people like Nick Grimshaw that ruined those chances.

“Grimshaw,” Louis says with a fake enthusiasm. “How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?”

“Would you rather I call you by my other nickname for you? But I should warn you its rather rude.”

Louis rolls his eyes. “And this is exactly why I won’t do an interview with you.”

“Oh please,” Nick snorts. “The real reason is because the last time I did, we almost had a fight on live TV.”

“Would have been good television as well, don’t you think?” Louis poses the question before leaving to go and change into his kit.

That was his first time seeing Nick since he found out about him and Harry. Knowing that man has been fooling around with the love of his life, made him see red. So Louis had to get out of there before he did something he regrets.

Since reporters were milling around, there was bound to be someone coming up to ask him some questions. So to avoid this from happening Louis puts on his headphones and turns around, to try to discourage people from coming over.

Was it rude? Yes, but Louis just wanted to play some football, not answer a hundred questions.

His tactic was working great before someone decides to tap him on the shoulder. Louis turns around to see Harry’s smiling face staring back at him. Of course he would be the only one brave enough to come up to him.

Louis takes of his headphones, while glaring at his ex. “Look can I get changed first before we start doing this.”

“Actually wasn’t coming here to interview you but sure go ahead,” Harry leans against the locker and waits for him.

Louis was expecting him to leave and let him change in private but it looks like Harry was not leaving.

Louis decides not to stress over it since Harry has seen him naked multiple times. Louis strips off his shirt and throws it in his locker.

“Lou that’s going to get wrinkled,” Harry grabs the shirt and starts to fold it.

“Thanks mum. Mind folding my trousers too while you’re at it?” Louis suddenly throws his trousers in Harry’s face.

Louis starts laughing uncontrollably, while Harry stands there with an unamused expression.

“That’s not funny,” Harry grumbles but still folds his trousers anyway.

Louis pretends to wipe a tear form his eye. “Ah but it was.”

Harry takes the folded trousers and neatly places it into the locker alongside his shirt. “So what’s up with you and Nick?” Harry asks.

Louis chuckles darkly. “Look I know we’re separated but you should remember that me and Nick do not get along.”

“No I mean you seemed more agitated with him than usual.”

“Just having a bad day is all,” Louis grumbles. “Can you hand me my shin pads please.” Louis gestures over to a shelf in his locker.  

As Harry goes to get the shin pads, he spots a collage of pictures hanging in Louis’s locker.

“Well this is cute,” Harry comments as his eyes glance over all the photos of their children.

One photo stood out in particular though and Harry pauses on it. Harry uses his fingertips to gently touch the photo as if he was scared it would break.

 Louis follows his movements and freezes. The photo was a picture of Harry and him on their wedding day. It was before they were even dressed in their tuxes because Harry insisted they take one last photo as fiancés’. Louis always planned on removing it but he could never find himself able to.

“I’m surprised you still have this up,” Harry says, still looking at the photo.

Louis clears his throat. “Yeah well I never got around to taking it down.”

Finally Harry turns to look at him with an unreadable expression. “Louis it’s-”

“Y-You know what, I really need to get to the pitch,” Louis interrupts him before he can even finish. “I’ll see ya out there H.”

Louis throws his remaining football gear on and rushes out the locker room without looking back.

Harry watches his ex-husband walk away and decides not to chase after him.

 

Liam passes the ball to Louis. “So what’s up with you and Harry?” Liam asks.

“What do you mean?” Louis dribbles the ball before passing it over to Niall.

“Oh don’t play dumb Lou. We saw you two giggling in there. Looked proper cute as well,” Niall answers while kicking the ball into the net.

Louis rolls his eyes. This is what Louis hated about the locker room. There is absolutely no privacy.

Instead of responding Louis shakes his head and calls the rest of his teammates for a team huddle.

“Alright lads, I just want to address this before we start,” Louis takes a deep breath before continuing. “I know you all saw the news so I don’t have to explain it. But I do want to state that despite what everyone is saying I'm still into cock so don't go thinking I turned straight."

"Yes! I still have a chance!" Niall exclaims, jokingly.

Louis and the rest of the boys start laughing. You can always count in Niall to lighten the mood. "Alright is there any concerns or questions?"

Nobody speaks up. “Good now coach wants us to run 10 laps around the pitch before we start. Got to show the world we’re not a bunch of lazy bums. Now off you go!” Louis watches his team start sprinting off in the opposite direction.

The sidelines were full of camera crews and reporters, who were observing the team closely. Louis knew if his boys made any mistake, one of these 100 cameras would capture it.

Out of reflex Louis scans the crowd for one person in particular and finally spots him in front a camera, talking into a mic. Louis always liked watching Harry get all serious for the camera, it was hot.

Next thing Louis notices is that Nick was right next to Harry. They were standing a little too close in Louis's opinion. 

Louis breaks his stare once he sees that some of his teammates have already completed one lap and decides that he needed to catch up.

10 laps later, coach had split them into two teams. He also decided to leave Louis out so he could “observe the rookies” but Louis knew it was punishment for his antics last weekend.

On any other day Louis would argue this but he rather not argue with his own coach in front of the media.

So Louis stood with the rest of the team’s staff and observed. Coach blew his whistle, signaling for them to start.

Louis walked around the sideline taking note on everyone’s form. Everyone looked to be in good shape which Louis was happy for.

At one point one of the rookies gets smoked by Liam and misses his tackle, ultimately letting Liam score a goal because of it.

“Hey Smith come over here lad!” Louis waves him over.  

Smith jogs over and stops in front of Louis. “I know I blew it on the coverage Tommo. It’s just Liam’s really fast,” he says out of breath.

“Yeah but not as fast as he used to be. It’s not about how quick you are, it’s about strategy. If you’re gonna go and steal the ball, make sure to get right in front of him.”

Smith look at him in doubt. “I tried doing that. I’m telling you he’s just too quick.”

Louis could hear the frustration in his voice and he understands. Starting out with a new team can be difficult, it takes time to get used to this level of football.

“Watch his movements and wait for an opening,” Louis instructs. “I know that’s easier said than done but here let me help you.”

Louis grabs a spare ball and set it down at his own feet. Louis instructs Smith to come at him and try to steal the ball.

Smith looks at him with doubt but does what his captain says. He runs up to Louis ready to kick the ball from his feet but his aim is off and accidentally hits Louis on the shin instead.

Louis yelps in surprise and falls on his back to the ground. Thank god for his shin pads, or else he would be in excruciating pain.

In all the commotion, somehow Smith had tripped on his own two feet and fell on top of Louis.

Louis notices the weight on his chest and looks down to see Smith’s body right on top of him. “Well that couldn’t have turned out any worse,” Louis starts to laugh.

Smith looks down at him, horrified and Louis could see the blush tinged on his cheeks. “Oh my god! I’m so sorry Louis. This is so embarrassing!”

Louis actually found it quite endearing. “Nah it’s okay. Just get off me yeah?”

Smith gasps when he realizes he was basically straddling his captain and quickly stands up. “I’m sorry Louis. I guess I was just nervous,” Smith says as he helps Louis off the floor.

Louis dusts his shorts and starts to chuckle. “Hey it’s okay mate. We just got to work on your technique.”

“God I feel like an idiot,” Smith hides his face into his hands.

Louis pries his hands from his face, so he can look at him. “Look you’re new, it’s okay to be nervous. You just need extra practice.”

“I guess it doesn’t help that I have a crush on the captain, does it?” Smith admits shyly.

Louis widens his eyes at the confession and immediately drops the other man's hands, that he was still holding. “I um I’m flattered Smith but I don’t date my teammates.”

Smith let’s out a dry laugh. “Wow today is not my day.”

Louis pats him on the shoulder. “Sorry lad. Now get back into the game before coach starts yelling at us.”

Smith nods his head and starts to walk out back into the pitch. Before he gets too far Louis asks him, “Oi what’s your first name Smith?”

The rookie looks back and smiles. “It’s Lucas!”

Louis reciprocates the smile and let’s his teammate get back into the game. Louis walks back to his spot on the sideline, but stops short when he sees Harry glaring at him.

“Look Harry, I really don’t have time for questions right now. You have to wait till the end like everyone else.” Louis walks past him, to go get some water.

“I was just wondering when you got so handsey with your teammates,” Harry says with bitterness evident in his voice.

Louis chugs down one of the cups and tosses it into the bin. “That is a question,” Louis says matter-of-factly. “Also it was an accident. I was trying to help him with something and he tripped.”

Louis watches Harry cross his arms. “Yeah right,” Harry scoffs. “He definitely fell on you on purpose. Basically just laid himself on top of you.”

“And how would you know ‘Mr. Trips over his feet all the time’?” Louis raises his eyebrows at him.

“I can ask my camera guy to show you footage,” Harry says seriously. “I think he was recording it when it happened,” Harry starts to turn around, to search for his camera guy but Louis grabs his arm.

“No stop Harry. Why are you even worried about this?”

The question makes Harry fish mouth for an answer. “I-I am not. I’m just looking out for you is all.”

Louis snorts, sure. “First off I do not need to be looked after and second Smith already admitted that he has a crush on me.”

Harry widens his eyes. “He did? And what did you say?”

“I told him I don’t date my teammates,” Louis stands back and looks at his ex-husband with suspicion.

“Oh really? Well then I’ll just let you get back to work,” Harry rubs at his neck awkwardly.

“I cannot believe you,” Louis chuckles drily. “Are you actually jealous right now?”

“Of course not,” Harry denies right away. “Like I said I was just trying to look out for you,” he says unconvincingly.

Louis has been with this man too long to know that he was lying. “You know this is rich coming from the guy who is dating someone that you know I cannot stand.”

Harry feigns ignorance. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Oh come off it Harry!” Louis raises his voice, bringing attention from other reporters around them. “I know damn well that there is something going on with you and Nick.”

Harry freezes. “H-How did you find out?”

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you could have picked anyone, literally anyone! But you decide to pick Grimshaw! The only guy that made me feel insecure and jealous when he was with you.”

“I told you nothing was going on with me and Nick when we were married!” Harry yells in frustration. “I would never hurt you like that Louis. I loved you and only you. He was just a friend!”

Louis tries to pretend Harry’s past tense use of the word “love” didn’t hurt.

“So what, now that you and I are done, you and Nick decided to get together?” Louis throws his hands up in the air out of frustration. “You have to see how fucked up that is Harry!”

Every camera was aimed at the two of them but Louis and Harry didn’t seem to care. They were too involved in their own argument to notice.

“Why are you so angry about this?! I don’t even know how you…wait a minute,” Harry squints his eyes at him. “The kids were the ones who told you, aren’t they?”

Louis’s silence was all he needed to hear.

“This makes so much sense now!” Harry laughs humorlessly. “The reason why Olivia felt guilty was because she was the one who told you, wasn’t she? You went out that night because you found out Nick and I were together?!”

“This is the exact reason why I didn’t want you to find out," Louis huffs in frustration. "I knew you were just going to take the piss out of me.”

“Well of course I am! You fucked a random girl because you don’t know how to control your emotions!”

At this point Harry was right in front of Louis, yelling in his face. “Fuck you Harry,” Louis says through clenched teeth.

They stared each other down before Louis’s coach decides to intervene.   

“Gentlemen let me remind you that this is football practice not a soap opera,” Coach pushes them apart before things got too out of hand. “I’m sorry Harry, but I think it’s best if you pack up your stuff and leave.”

Harry looks like he wants to argue but decides against it. He glares one more time at Louis before going back to his camera crew."

Next coach turns to Louis with disappointment etched into his face. “I’m very upset with you, Tomlinson, but I will not yell at you with these cameras here. They already have all the dramatic footage they need. I suggest you get back to being a captain to your team.”

Louis nods his head solemnly and proceeds to rejoin his team out on the pitch.

His whole team seemed to have paused their game and watched the whole scene unfold. Louis grabs the ball from Niall’s hands.

“What are you boys standing around for?! We have a game to train for!” Louis sets the ball down and starts a new game with a kick off.

Louis glances back where Harry is and spots him with Nick's arm around him. He watches them leave until they were out of sight.

Niall walks up to him and gently lays a hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay Lou?”

“No. No I’m not okay.” Louis answers honestly. “Now get back into the goal post. We have a game to win.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go, another chapter done! Hope you guys liked this as much as I did! Leave me some feedback and any other suggestions so that I can make this work better! Anyway until next chapter, see ya!
> 
> p.s should I make a Twitter so I can update you guys? Let me know.
> 
> ~DJN


	4. Healing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PREVIEW  
> His eyes were anything but dry by the time he was finished. He loved this man so much and it hurt to let him go. It hurts even more to admit it. 
> 
> Louis squeezes his hand and leans his head on Harry’s shoulder. “A part of me will always love you too,” Louis let’s out a wet laugh. “Fuck you know this hurts so much.”
> 
> Harry snuggles him closer, “I know.”
> 
> They sat on that hardwood floor for a while, letting out everything that they were too scared to share.
> 
> (This chapter is shown through Harry's POV)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap I'm actually updating this! It has been too long. I'm so sorry for the long wait. College has been kicking my butt. Anyway I hope you guys like this chapter. It feels damn good to be writing again.  
> ~DJN

 

A smile automatically makes its way on Harry’s face when he feels a warm body next to him. Without hesitation he wraps his arms around the person and snuggles them from behind. He closes his eyes and starts to slip back to sleep.

“Harry? I thought we didn’t do cuddling?” the body underneath him groans.

Harry’s eyes pop open and he quickly removes himself from Nick.

“I’m sorry, it was just- sorry,” he stutters out, embarrassed at his actions.

“It’s okay if you want to. I just thought you didn’t like cuddling,” Nick yawns.

It’s not like Harry didn’t like cuddling, he actually loved cuddling, but for some reason it never felt right when he held Nick in his arms.

This new “thing” with Nick was strictly friends with benefits. Their arrangement first started a month ago when Harry decided to get drunk and rant to Nick about how lonely and sexually frustrated he was.

That morning when Harry was nursing his hang over, Nick offered to help him with his “problem”. Of course Harry initially said no, but he relented after he couldn’t take the loneliness anymore.

Harry was afraid that their friendship would get weird, but so far Nick has been really amazing with the whole thing. Nothing was awkward and no lines were blurred. So far it’s been really good, except for the fact Louis found out.

“No sorry let’s just forget about it,” Harry stretches his arms above his head and glances over at the clock. His eyes widen when he sees the time. “Oh shit!”

Harry jumps out of bed and starts to throw on his clothes that were scattered throughout the room.

“What’s wrong?” Nick sits up, looking at Harry still in a sleepy daze.

“You have to leave now!” Harry throws Nick’s clothes at him.

“What? Why?”

“Because Louis is dropping Mila off and I can’t have you here when he comes! Shit where is my shirt?” Harry starts rummaging under his bed.

They both had a lot to drink last night so it was kind of a blur. The only thing Harry remembers is being upset about Louis and then Nick being there to help relieve some of his frustrations.

“Wait why do you care if he sees me?” Nick asks.

Harry stands up straight and glares at Nick. “Because he hates you and I don’t want to strain mine and his relationship any more than it has already.”

It’s been a few weeks since their big argument on the field and things between Harry and Louis have been more tense than usual. They avoided each other like the plague and only talked to each other if necessary.

For the sake of their kids, Harry wanted to at least go back to how they were before, when they actually talked to each other like civilized people. Having Nick half naked in his house would definitely not help.

Because of Louis’s dramatic confrontation on the pitch, everyone was aware of Harry and Nick’s “relationship”, if you can even call it that.

Sky Sports even released an article with the headline, _Sky Sports Very Own Love Story_ , accompanied with a picture of Harry and Nick on the cover.

The media were always good at creating false narratives out of these very real situations. Harry just wants everyone to mind their own business and leave them alone but sadly that is not the world that they live in.

_DING.DING.DING_

The sound of the doorbell stops Harry’s search for his shirt.  

“I got it!” Nick exclaims and bolts out of the bedroom before Harry could even react.

“Oh no you don’t!” Harry hurries after him to try to prevent him from reaching the door.

But by the time Harry ran down the stairs Nick had already opened the door in nothing but his sweatpants. Harry quickly runs up behind him, out of breath and without a shirt as well.

Louis takes in the sight of the two half-naked men and notices their heavy breathing. “Well isn’t this a good morning?” Louis says sarcastically.

“Morning Louis,” Harry tries to smile but it turns into more into a grimace.

“Yeah good morning Lewis,” Nick wraps his arm around Harry’s waist.

Harry tenses in his embrace and looks over at him questioningly.

Louis’s eyes follow the movement but redirects his eyes to the ground.

“Look I can take Mila for a little bit longer if you want,” Louis taps his foot impatiently, completely contradicting what he was saying.  

“No that’s okay. Nick was just leaving. Isn’t that right Nick?” Harry discretely elbows him in the stomach.

“Ow what the…oh I mean yes. I’ll just go change,” Nick goes to kiss him, but Harry turns his head so he kisses his cheek instead.

Nick looks rejected, but Harry did not want to make things more awkward than they already are. Harry had no idea why Nick was acting like this, but it was obviously not helping the situation.

As soon as Nick was gone Harry invites Louis inside.

“Louis I’m-”

“Look I don’t have much time,” Louis carefully hands Mila to Harry. “I’m already late for practice.”

Harry studies Louis’s face and notices the dark circles under his eyes, “You look exhausted. Are you okay?”

Louis rubs his eyes, “Mila had a bit of a cough last night and couldn’t go to sleep. I tried giving her some cough syrup but she wouldn’t take it. So I stayed up with her the whole night.”

Harry winces in sympathy, “Let me make you some tea.”

He doesn’t wait for an answer and puts Mila on the floor to play with her toys.

As Harry boils up some water he can feel Louis enter the room. He could always feel when Louis was around. It was like a sixth sense he gained after being married to him for so long.

“Well I really missed seeing this every morning,” Louis speaks up.

Harry turns around and leans back against the counter. “What, me shirtless making you tea?” he smirks.

“No you making me tea with come stains on your pants.”

Harry’s face falls. He looks down but finds nothing there.

“You’re an ass,” Harry glares at his ex-husband.

Louis chuckles, “Just teasing, sorry force of habit. I just want to say thank you for making me tea. I didn’t realize how tired I was until I got here.”

Harry finishes up the tea, making it just how Louis likes it.

“It’s no problem at all,” Harry hands him the cup. “I’m just sorry you had to stay up all night. You could have called me you know.”

Harry cringes as Louis takes a sip of his tea. He never knew how he did that while it was still scolding hot.

“I did, but you didn’t answer. I guess I know why now,” Louis says against his cup.

Harry feels his face heat up, “I’m sorry Louis. I didn’t want him to be here when you got here.”

Louis shakes his head, “Don’t apologize. This is your home and your life. I don’t have any say in it.”

For some reason that didn’t make Harry feel any better.

“Uh alright,” Harry hesitates before asking what he’s been waiting to ask him. “Louis…can we talk about what happened on the pitch?”

Louis sputters on his tea, “W-Wow would you look at the time. I can hear coach already giving me one of his lectures.”

He puts down his half-drunken tea and heads straight for the door. Always running from his problems like he always does.

“We have to talk about it,” Harry follows right after him.

“Uh we really don’t. We fought. We always fight Harry, it’s okay.”

Louis opens the door, but Harry shuts it closed, using his body to block his way.

“Can you stop running away from me and listen?” Harry asks frustrated. “ _This_ fight was different and we both know it.”

Louis let’s out a sigh and licks his lips nervously, “Look I’m sorry for being an ass that day. Is that what you want to hear? Now can you get out of my way please?”

“But with Nick-“

Louis quickly cuts him off, “Look I could care less of what you and Nick are doing with each other. I realize that it’s not my place anymore.”

This was not what Harry had in mind when he asked if they could talk. Harry was hoping that he and Louis could just sit down and have a civilized conversation, but it looks like that’s not going to happen.

Before Louis could leave, Harry needed to ask one more question.

“Are we okay?” he knew it was a stupid question to ask.

Louis shoots him a sad smile, “When was the last time we were ever okay? I’ll text you later to see how Mila is doing. Bye Harry.”

Louis gently pushes Harry out of the way of the door and practically jogs to his car. Harry stands there and watches the man he used to love drive away.

Deep in Harry’s heart he knew he still had some love for Louis but it wasn’t as strong as it used to be. Harry convinced himself that they grew out of love for one another and that their relationship could not be saved.

There are times where Harry has hated himself for getting a divorce, but he knew it was the right thing to do. He and Louis weren’t working like they used to. They were practically strangers living in the same house.

Harry wanted to slap himself for even thinking about leaving Louis. They had kids and they had just adopted Mila. He didn’t want to be the one who broke their family apart, but at the same time he was so tired of fighting.

Once the divorce was finalized, Harry felt like a weight was lifted from his shoulders. Harry was actually able to sleep, knowing that he wasn’t going to get into an argument the next morning. It wasn’t until a few weeks in that Harry noticed this empty feeling in his heart.

Louis’s absence from his life was felt right away. Harry didn’t realize how much Louis had embedded his way into his life until he left.

Every once in a while Harry would find things that reminded him of Louis. It was like finding little treasures that were just fueling his pain.

Just the other day Harry found a crushed up pack of cigarettes in his closet. Just seeing those brought a wave of memories.

It was the day Louis quit smoking. On that day Louis told him that since they were going to be parents he didn’t want to be smoking around the baby. Louis pulled out his last pack and crushed it up in his hands. Harry was so happy and proud of him that he jumped right in his arms, smothering his face with kisses.    

Even with all the pain and heartache, Harry doesn’t regret getting a divorce. Harry believes that if they were still married, they would be constantly fighting and unhappy.

The divorce gave both of them the opportunity to grow and reflect on past mistakes. Even though Louis was so reluctant to agree to separate, Harry could see that he was doing much better without him.

Louis actually made time for the kids and took on some real responsibility. He also looked physically well, probably because he now spends most of his time working out instead of fighting with him.

So maybe the divorce was a good thing. Maybe Harry and Louis were never meant to be married. As long as the kids and Louis were happy, then it was worth getting a broken heart.

“Is the prick gone?” Nick comes down the stairs, this time fully clothed.

“Huh?” Harry’s eyes finally leave the now empty driveway. “Oh yeah he left and don’t call him that, I’m the only one who can call him that.”

“Sorry force of habit,” Nick shrugs his shoulders.

“So what the hell was that earlier?” Harry questions.

“What was what?”

“Wrapping your arm around me and trying to kiss me in front of Louis. Why did you do that?”

“Oh that,” Nick laughs. “I just wanted to see Louis get jealous. It’s kinda hot but very amusing at the same time.”

Harry frowns, “Did you just call Louis hot?”

“Oh come on anyone with eyes can see that he’s good looking, sadly even me.”

Harry pretends to gag, “I think I might have puked in my mouth.”

“Oh stop being a drama queen,” Nick rolls his eyes. “Don’t worry I won’t come for your man. He’s too annoying too put up with.”

“He’s not my-"

Harry is cut off by tiny coughs coming from the living room. When he gets there Mila is sitting on the floor, on the verge of tears.

He quickly picks her up and winces when he feels how warm her head is.

“Oh my love, you’re burning up.”

Nick comes up next to him and feels her head too. “Yeah you’re right and she looks a bit pale as well. Maybe you should take her to the doctors.”

Harry silently agrees with him and starts to think about what he needs to bring for the appointment.

“Also if you need to take off the whole week, do it,” Nick advises him.

“But we have that segment with Manchester United. I can’t let you take on that project by yourself.”

Nick waves him off, “Oh I’ll be fine. Family comes first. Anyways this just means more fit footballers for me.”

Harry shakes his head, amused. “You are shameless.”

“I know!” he sings. “I’ll see you later Harry. I hope Mila gets better.”

After the door shuts, Harry looks down at Mila and worry fills his body. Her face was pale and she was breathing heavier than usual.

Harry immediately got into “protective dad mode” and started to pack for the doctors.

“It’s okay Mila, we’re going to see Doctor Shuster. She’s gonna make you feel better.”

 Harry puts a hat on her and decides to bring an extra blanket just in case she gets cold.

It was actually a quite warm day out, but Harry didn’t want whatever Mila had to worsen.

Harry shoots a quick text to Louis saying that he was going to bring Mila to the doctors, but knowing Louis he probably won’t see it until after practice.

Louis has a weird personal rule of no phones during practice, so he never got his messages until it ended. This was just one of many things that caused a lot of fights back then.

Harry secures Mila in her car seat and heads straight to the doctor’s office.

 

“Harry!”

Harry looks down the corridor and surprisingly sees Louis running toward him. If it was under different circumstances he would be laughing at his appearance.

Louis was still in his dirty cleats and football uniform. His greasy hair was held back with a headband and he had grass stains all over his skin.

He looked like a child coming home from football practice and Harry couldn’t deny he looked very cute.

Harry stands up to greet him, “Hey, you’re just in time. Doctor Shuster is gonna see us in a bit."

Louis bends down to kiss Mila on her head, “I’m sorry Harry. I thought it was just a cough.”

“You couldn’t have known. I think she just got the fever as soon as you dropped her off. It’s okay,” Harry reassures him.

Louis relaxes a little, but there is still concern etched on his face.

“I texted Beck and Olivia saying that Liam was going to pick them up from school,” Louis said.

“We can always count on Liam,” Harry pauses for a minute before continuing. “I have to say I’m kinda surprised you’re here”

Louis looks up with a frown, “Why?”

Harry shrugs his shoulder, “Because of you’re no phone policy rule when practicing. You never get my texts until after practice.”

Louis sighs like he was disappointed in his past self, “Yeah well that was before I started using this bad boy.”

He holds out his wrist that was covered with an apple watch. The same apple watch Harry got him a couple years ago.

“You’re actually using it? I thought you said it was too _‘obnoxious’._ ”

Harry remembers how Louis refused to wear the damn thing and had threatened to return it.

In response, Harry simply rolled his eyes and walked away, saying that he could do whatever he fucking wanted with it.

“It is but it also keeps me connected with you guys, so I could care less of how flashy it looks.”

Harry just stares at Louis for a moment. That’s definitely not what the old Louis would have said.

“Mila Tomlinson?” Both Harry and Louis stand up. “We can see you now,” the nurse gestures for them to follow her.

She leads them to one of the rooms and tells them the doctor will be in shortly.

“What’s up with this hat?” Louis takes off the tiny Burberry cap Mila had on.

“I saw it in the store the other day. Isn’t it cute?”

The only reason Harry bought it was because it reminded him of Louis’s cap and he really wanted to see Mila in one.

“It looks exactly like mine,” Louis smiles. “I didn’t know they made small caps like this.”

Louis was genuinely fascinated at the miniature hat and his face was adorably scrunched up. Harry was trying his hardest not to fond over him.

“Well they actually make a lot of baby clothing!” Harry says excitedly. “I’m gonna see if Gucci makes anything like this. Can you imagine Mila in…why are you laughing at me?” Harry pouts, as Louis starts to full on cackle.

“You’re gonna turn our child into one of those Instagram babies,” Louis laughs.

Harry gasps, “I would never exploit our gorgeous girl like that. Anyway Instagram would die of cuteness if we ever created a page for her. Isn’t that right Mila?”

 Mila starts coughing in response, “Hurts dada.”

That makes Harry’s heart break and he cuddles her further into his arms.

“You’ll be okay darling,” Louis looks down at her in concern. “I wish I could take whatever you have and transfer it onto me.”

Harry strokes her hair, “I hate seeing our kids sick like this.”

“I know me too, but Doctor Shuster will find out what’s wrong,” Louis tries to ease his worries.

A few minutes later there’s a knock on the door and the doctor walks in.

Doctor Shuster has been their pediatrician since Beckham, and the kids absolutely adore her. Louis and Harry wouldn’t trust anyone else to treat their children.

“Would you look at that, it’s the Tomlinson’s! It’s been a while since I’ve seen you here,” she says with her trademark smile.

“Actually he’s back to Styles now,” Louis corrects right away.

Harry internally cringes. This is one of those small things about the divorce that he hated. Everyone would still call him Mr. Tomlinson and the thing was he didn’t even correct them because for one he didn’t want to make it awkward, and two he secretly still liked being called Mr. Tomlinson.

“Oh I forgot, I’m sorry. It was quite a shame when I found out. You two were amazing together,” Doctor Shuster was always someone who wasn’t scared to share her opinion. “Well anyways _Mr. Styles_ and Mr. Tomlinson. What brings you here?”

Harry clears his throat, “Um it’s just Mila has been coughing, and she’s gotten a fever. We don’t know if it’s just a cold or something else.”

“I see, well its good you brought her here. You can never be too safe,” Doctor Shuster looks down at Mila. “Hi there darling, we’re gonna fix you right up. Don’t worry.”

She asks Harry to let Mila sit in his lap while she examines her. She pulls up her shirt and uses her stethoscope to listen to her heart and lungs.

Harry studies her face closely to indicate if there’s anything wrong, but Doctor Shuster keeps her face neutral throughout the whole examination.

After doing some more checks, Doctor Shuster pulls out her laptop and starts typing.

Louis and Harry stare at her, waiting anxiously for her to say something.

“Alright lads it seems like Mila here has pneumonia,” Doctor Shuster notices their faces turn grave, and she quickly reassures them. “Don’t worry almost every child goes through this. We can easily treat this with some antibiotics.”

Both parents turn to one another with knowing looks. Mila was not a fan of taking any type of medication and it would always take both of them to give it to her.

“But before that, let's take some x-rays of her chest to confirm what exactly is causing the infection. It’s painless and quick, I swear. So when you guys are ready you can follow me.”

Harry holds Mila close to his body and doesn’t realize he was biting his bottom lip until Louis touches his arm.

“Hey no need to worry. She’ll be okay,” Louis tries to comfort him.

Harry gives him a small smile, “I know. I’m just nervous.”

“Me too but we can do this…together?” Louis holds out his hand to Harry.

Harry immediately latches on, “Together.”

They look at each other silently, trying to focus on the comfort they are getting from one another.

“You two are still cute as ever I see,” Doctor Hart coos at the two men.

Harry totally forgot she was there. He blushes and goes to remove his hand but feels that Louis tightened his grip.

The gesture makes Harry look up at him questioningly, but Louis keeps his eyes in front of him. Without making a big deal about it Harry squeezes his hand back.

It should feel weird but for some reason it doesn’t.

 

After the x-rays were done, they took Mila back home to rest.

They both were next to each other on the sofa, watching Mila take her nap. Harry told Louis that he would be fine without him, but Louis insisted on staying.

Louis was currently wearing some of Harry’s clothes since he was still in his football kit. Harry of course isn’t affected by this in the slightest.

“At least she’s sleeping now,” Louis says quietly, trying not to wake Mila up.

“Yeah, but look she’s breathing a little harder than usual,” Harry says while caressing her cheek with his finger. “I think I’m gonna take off for the whole week, so I can watch over her.”

“I’ll take off too then,” Louis says right away, already taking out his phone to probably text his coach.

“You don’t have to do that. I can handle this on my own.”

“I know you can, but how about when you have to give her medicine Harry? We both know neither of us can do that by ourselves.”

And yeah he did have a point. Trying to make Mila take medicine was like trying to make Louis drink one of his green smoothies; a lot of crying, whining and puking.

“How about that game coming up? You can’t miss practice.”

Louis shakes his head. “I need to be with my daughter. My team can handle a few days without me. Plus I’m Captain, I can afford to miss a couple practice days,” Louis says confidently.

Harry rolls his eyes. Louis’s overconfidence has always gotten him in trouble.

“Well don’t go blaming me when you’re the one to blow the game for the team then.”

“Oh please,” Louis snorts. “You know me better than that.”  

Harry adjusts himself so his body was facing Louis. “You know cocky does not look good on you.”

“That’s not what you were saying when we were married.”

Harry absolutely hates it when he says that.

“When did I ever say I liked your cockiness?” Harry asks incredulously.

“I mean you never complained before,” Louis chuckles. “Plus you would give me those bedroom eyes of yours whenever I did my goal celebration.”

Louis’s goal celebration was definitely something else. After scoring, he would run around the field and slide to his knees in front of the other team’s bench. Sometimes he would sneak in a cheeky middle finger in there if the refs weren’t paying attention.

“Ah yes, the Tommo Celebration,” Harry sighs. “You know there’s a difference between confidence and cockiness, right sweetheart?”

Louis grins mischievously, “Okay fine maybe you didn’t admire my cockiness, but you did admire my cock-”

Harry immediately puts his hand over Louis’s mouth, “Stop right there.”

Louis giggles against his hand, creating warmth to spread throughout his arm.

Harry yelps when he feels Louis’s tongue touch his palm.

“You’re a child,” Harry wipes his palm on his jeans.

Louis laughs at the disgusted look on Harry’s face, “Just for you. Anyway since I’m gonna help take care of Mila, you mind if I stay here for the week?”

“Yeah of course,” Harry says without hesitation. “You can take one of the guest rooms.”

“Thanks H. Gonna be nice getting home-cooked meals from you again.”

This makes Harry fill with pride. If there is one thing Harry was good at it, it was making a damn good meal.  

Before they started living together Louis told him he never used the kitchen in his flat. Harry was certain that he was lying, but when he saw the mountains of pizza boxes and take-a-away piled up on the counter, he knew he needed to intervene.

When Harry finally moved in he made it his mission to make sure Louis was getting 3 balanced meals every day, but now that Louis didn’t have him anymore it makes him wonder if he went back to his old ways.

The concern must be evident on his face because Louis starts to reassure him.

“Hey don’t worry. Liam and the internet have been teaching me how to cook,” Louis says proudly.

“What? I’ve been trying to teach you to cook for years!”

“Yeah and remember whenever you tried to teach me we would get uh…distracted.”

Harry feels his face warm up, “That’s not my fault! You just didn’t take it seriously.”

“I tried! But seeing you all bossy and wearing an apron turned me on for some reason. I think I might have a kink for sexy chefs.”

Harry snorts out a laugh, “Well I’m sorry that I’m distractedly gorgeous.”

“You should be. It’s very dangerous.”

Harry turns to look at him and is met with a serious gaze.

And there was that spark again. The same spark Harry felt when he first met Louis. It was the spark that he always tried to feel whenever he met someone new but of course he never felt it with anyone else.

The moment is broken up when Louis’s phone starts to go off.

“Hello?” Louis answers promptly. “Oh hi there.”

Harry tries not to listen in but that was hard since he was sitting right next to him.

“Yeah I’m sorry I haven’t called you back, I’ve been busy…I don’t think I can anytime soon…Again I’m so sorry, it’s just bad timing right now, but once my schedule frees up you’ll be the first person I call, I promise.”

Whatever the person on the other line says, it causes Louis to smile against his phone.

Harry decides to look away after that. He didn’t know who was making Louis smile like that, but he was getting a weird feeling in his chest.

Louis hangs up. “Where is Liam? He was supposed to bring the kids back from school already,” he said while looking at the time.

“He probably took them to the park. He loves spoiling them,” Harry casually looks off to the side. “So who were you talking to?”

 “Uh it was just Lucas,” Louis doesn’t explain any further.

“Lucas?” Harry searches his brain, trying to recall any Lucas’ he knows. “Wait, Lucas Smith? The rookie?”

The same rookie who “fell” on Louis during practice. Harry couldn’t believe it when he saw it happen. The guy literally threw himself at Louis. It was embarrassing to watch honestly.

“Yeah, we’re just going out for drinks,” Louis says nonchalantly.

There’s that odd aching feeling in his chest again.

“Thought you didn’t date guys on the team?”

“Never said we were going on a date. It’s just drinks as _teammates_ ,” Louis makes sure to put an emphasis on ‘teammates’.

“Oh uh that’s good- I mean you know getting to know your teammates and all,” Harry wants to slap himself.

Louis hums in agreement, avoiding eye contact with him.

Thankfully the sound of the front door interrupts the awkward silence.

“Daddies we’re home!” Liam sings out loud.

All three of them stumble into the living room, and their eyes fall onto the two men on the couch.

“Would you mind keeping it down? It took an hour to put Mila back to sleep,” Harry shushes them.

“Here let me go take her to her room,” Louis gently takes Mila into his arms. “Hello my other babies.”

He kisses their other two kids on the forehead and even gives one to Liam as he passes by.

“Oi gross Louis I’m not one of your babies,” Liam tries to wipe the kiss off of him.

“Yeah but you sure act like one!” Louis shouts from the top of the stairs.

“Wanker,” Liam grumbles under his breath. “So how’s Mila doing?” Liam asks.

“She has pneumonia but it isn’t that serious. We just need to give her some antibiotics and she should get better soon,” Harry explains to him.

“I can stay home to help take care of her if you want?” Beckham offers right away.

“Yeah I can skip dance practice to help too,” Olivia quickly follows after her brother.

Harry looks at them fondly and shakes his head no. He truly had the best kids in the world.

“Thank you so much for offering guys, but we are going to take off the whole week to watch your sister.”

“We?” Olivia asks, confused.

“Yeah me and your uh…dad.”

Harry watches both his kid’s faces brighten up like they just received the greatest news.

“Does that mean dad’s gonna be staying here for the whole week?” Beckham asks excitedly.

“Um yeah.”

In the corner of his eye he can see the shock on Liam’s face.  

Beckham and Olivia don’t waste a moment and bolt out of the living room to try to find their father.

“No running up the stairs! And do not wake up Mila you two!” Harry scolds.

Harry sighs and runs his hands in his hair. As much as he loves his kids, they are the main reason for some of his worse headaches.

“So Louis’s staying here for a week?” Liam asks with a sense of disbelief.

“Yep.”

Liam narrows his eyes at him, “You think that’s a good idea?”

“Nope,” Harry admits. “But it’s only for a week so it shouldn’t be too bad.”

“I guess, but a week is more than enough time for you two to kill each other,” Liam jokes.

“Oh very funny. I’m pretty sure we can be civil with one another for a week.”

Liam still looks unconvinced but doesn’t argue, “So how has it been Harry? I feel like we haven’t had a proper conversation in ages.”

That was sadly true. Harry was a little hesitant to chat with Liam and Niall just because they are two of Louis’s closest friends. He didn’t know where they stood after the whole divorce thing.

“I’ve been good. Been busy with work since the season started back up. It’s tough keeping up with you footballers.”

Liam chuckles, “Keeping up with the Footballers, yeah sounds about right.”

Harry shakes his head amused, “Oh hey weren’t you dating that one girl. Damn it what was her name?”

“Sophia? She and I broke up a while ago,” Liam shrugs his shoulders. “Speaking of dating, I heard that there’s something going on with you and Grimshaw.”

Liam doesn’t use a judgmental tone, but for some reason Harry feels the need to defend himself.

“Look Nick and I are just having fun. I’m a man with needs okay.”

Liam puts his hands up in surrender, “Hey I’m not judging you. I was just pointing it out.”

“Sorry,” Harry sighs. “It’s just been weird. I don’t know how to act around you guys.”

“You act like how you normally act around us,” Liam said it like it was the most obvious answer. “Just because you divorced my best mate doesn’t mean I’m gonna hate you. You’re one of my closest friends too.”

Harry looks down at his hands, “I know I’m sorry. I’m being dumb.”

“Just a little,” Liam smiles kindly at him. “Hey are you okay? You seem to be on edge. Was Louis being extra annoying today?”

“No, it’s just been a while since I hanged out with him alone and he seems…different?”

“Good or bad different?”

“Good different,” Harry smiles to himself. “I saw the old Louis today. The same Louis I fell in love with.”

Harry missed this Louis. Spending the day with him, made him actually believe that they were still married. It was a feeling he didn’t think he missed.  

“Mhm I noticed that too. He just seems more-”

“Happier?” Harry finishes for him. “Yeah I know. Maybe we should have gotten a divorce sooner.”

After he says this Liam stays quiet and makes his way over to sit next to him.

“Actually I was gonna say he seems less irritable. Wait do you actually think he’s happier without you?”

Harry silently nods his head.

Liam considers his next words before speaking, “Are you happier?”

Harry looks at him with a frown, “I-I mean the kids aren’t-”

“I didn’t ask about the kids. I asked if _you_ are happier.”

Harry let’s out a frustrated groan, “I don’t know Liam. Things are really complicated right now.”

“What’s so complicated about answering if you’re happy or not?”

Harry flails his arms in the air, “No Liam, I am not happier! I miss my husband okay! Is that what you wanted to hear?!”

Harry takes a couple deep breaths to calm himself down.

“I miss him, but there’s nothing I can do about it,” he says quieter. “I’m the one who made the decision to leave him and he clearly is doing better without me.”

 Liam puts an arm around him, “You’re so wrong about everything. He misses you just as much.”

“I wish I can believe that Liam. I really do.”

They stay there for a moment in comfortable silence. Harry let’s Liam comfort him before he suggests that they watch a movie together, like old times.

Liam insists on watching the new Avengers movie and so that’s what they start watching.

Harry has never been a fan of Marvel movies so he was completely lost.

Liam had to commentate almost every part in the movie just so he could understand what the hell was going on.

As Liam is trying to explain the Quantum Realm to him for the fifth time, the sound of someone kicking a football, interrupts him. Harry silently thanks whoever it is.

Harry looks into the backyard and he sees Louis running around the pitch, dribbling a ball.

“You know there has always been something so captivating about him when he plays,” Harry said memorized, as his eyes follow Louis’s every movement.

The way Louis moves around the pitch is like he’s gliding through air. Harry watches Louis easily kick the ball into the net and smiles when he starts to celebrate by himself. Anyone watching could tell that Louis was born to be out there.

“You sure you’re just not staring at his ass?”

Harry slaps Liam on the arm, “Shut up.”

“Sorry,” Liam laughs. “I get what you mean though. I’m gonna miss seeing him do his thing on the pitch.”

Harry is so focused on Louis that he almost missed what Liam said.

“Wait why would you miss seeing him play?”

Liam’s eyes were focused on the screen, completely distracted by the movie, “He told me and Niall the other day that he was thinking about retirement.”

“He’s what?!” Harry immediately jumps to his feet.

Liam finally directs his attention onto the conversation and looks ashamed that he said that aloud.

“I was not supposed to tell you that,” Liam face palms. “Louis’s going to kill me.”

“Not before I kill him. Why the hell didn’t he tell me?!”

“When he told us, he wasn’t sure. Maybe he just wanted to be certain before he told anyone else.”

“Bullshit,” Harry spits out. “He needs to tell me things like that.”

Harry paces around the living room, trying to decide what he should do.

“I’m gonna go talk to him.”

Liam looks at him with concern, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I _said_ I’m going to go talk to him,” Harry repeats. “He can’t just make big decisions like that without me.”

“Well I mean technically he can. You guys aren’t married anymore so-”

Liam stops talking when Harry gives him a death glare.

“Never mind don’t listen to me. I’m an idiot,” Liam surrenders.

Harry wrings his hands together, “Alright here I go. Wish me luck.”

“Good luck. Oh and go easy on him yeah? He’s having a hard time with this right now,” Liam tries to defend his best friend. “And maybe try not to mention that I told you, thanks mate.”

Harry promises him and makes his way outside. Louis was on the other side of the pitch with his back facing him. Harry strides his way over to him, mentally preparing himself on what he should say.  

As he nears closer, Louis backs up for a run-up. Louis is half-way to the ball when Harry decides to make his presence known. 

“How come you didn’t tell me you were thinking about retirement?”

This makes Louis lose focus and instead of kicking the ball, he kicks the grass which causes him to slip back and fall.

“Fucking hell,” Louis groans from his position on the ground.

Harry quickly runs to his side, “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you. Are you okay?’

Louis squints up at him, as if he was in a daze, “Are you an angel?”

Harry’s concern immediately melts away. Leave it to Louis to always be fooling around.

“Stop fucking around,” Harry said, unimpressed at his antics.

“Never mind you’re the devil.” Louis gets up from the ground and looks down at his trousers. “Oi there’s grass stains on my trousers now.”

“Actually those are mine and you can easily get that out with- wait stop trying to distract me, and answer my question,” Harry brings it back. 

Louis feigns ignorance, “What question is that may I ask?”

Harry crosses his arms over his chest, “How come you didn’t tell me you were retiring?”

“And where did you get that piece of information?”

“From one of my sources,” Harry tries to be vague to save Liam’s ass.

“It was Liam wasn’t it?”

“I cannot deny or confirm that.”

Louis rolls his eyes and walks past Harry.

“Hey where are you going?” Harry yells after him.

“Gonna go strangle Liam,” Louis says as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Harry walks faster to block his way, “How come you didn’t tell me?”

“Seriously Harry?” Louis stops and looks at him incredulously. “We were literally fighting a couple days ago. Why the hell would I tell you?”

Harry takes a step back, surprised at his words, “We’re friends Louis. Why wouldn’t you tell me?”

“Friends,” Louis laughs. “I have no idea what we are, but we are definitely not friends.”

The look of hurt on Harry’s face turns into anger and annoyance, “Wow okay. If that’s how you feel then I’m just going to leave you alone. Deal with this shit by yourself.”

Harry turns to leave, not wanting to stay there any longer. Before he could get too far, Louis stops him.

“Harry wait I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like a dick. I’m just really stressed about this whole retirement thing.”

Harry faces him, “Hey no need to explain it to me. Apparently we’re not friends so…”

“I didn’t mean it like that. I just didn’t know where we stood after that fight we had,” Louis tries explaining to him. “Things have been weird between us, you have to admit that.”

Harry nods his head in understanding. For a long time it’s been weird but after that fight, things were just confusing.

“It has, but no matter what you’re still one of my closest friends. Nothing changes that. Not even a divorce.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” Louis hangs his head in shame. “The reason I didn’t tell you was because I wasn’t even sure if I was going to go through with it.”

“Still I wish you told me so I could help you,” Harry says gently. “So why are you even thinking about retirement? You might be old Tomlinson, but I know you still got some moves on you.”

That effectively lightens up the mood and Louis starts to laugh.

 “These new guys on the pitch are around 17 to 20. I’m almost _40_ ,” Louis said it like he was ashamed to admit that he was close to 40.

“I cannot believe the great Louis Tomlinson is admitting that he is getting old,” Harry teases.

Sometimes Harry forgets that Louis is more than halfway to 40. The only thing that gives away his age is the small streaks of gray hair and the extra wrinkles around his eyes.

“I never said I was getting old,” Louis practically pouts. “I just want to give the youngsters a chance of winning, I can’t be beating their arse at my age. Might be too embarrassing for them you know.”

Harry can’t help but laugh, “It’s okay to admit that you’re getting old Lou. I mean we both are.”

“Yeah right,” Louis snorts. “I mean look at you. You still look like your 25, with your long brown hair and wrinkle free skin.”

“That is because I dye my hair and I have an anti-aging skin routine. Got to fake it till you make it darling,” Harry flips his hair dramatically.

Louis shakes his head amused, “I still remember when you tried to make me do facemasks with you. That was an absolute disaster.”

“The box never said you can’t put it on facial hair!”

“My face was sore and red for week. I was absolutely dramatized!” Louis laughs loudly.

Harry laughs with him, “Hey I have another one we can maybe try and I promise that this one will not tear out your beard hair.”

Louis hesitates but relents when he sees the hopeful look on Harry’s face.

“Sure but if one hair is pulled off, I’m never doing it again.”

Harry smiles happily at him. If one thing stayed the same it was that Louis could never resist Harry’s “puppy-dog” face.

Their moment is broken up when Liam comes out with Mila crying in his arms, “Lads Mila just woke up and she won’t stop crying.”

Harry takes Mila from Liam and feels her forehead.

“It feels like she might have a fever again. It’s almost time for her medicine. Louis you mind getting it for me?”

“I’m already on it,” Louis yells back, already halfway into the house.

“You need me to do anything?” Liam asks.

“No that’s okay, Louis and I can handle this.”

“Alright well I think I should get going then. I have an early morning tomorrow.”

Harry nods his head, “Okay thanks again for picking the kids up. It was a big help.”

"It was no problem, I love those kids like they’re my own.”

Harry smiles at him one last time, thinking that Liam was going to leave. When he notices that he hasn't moved, Harry shoots him a curious look.

"Is there something else Liam?"

"No it's just nice."

"What's nice?"

"Seeing you, Louis and the kids in this house again. It feels like the good old times," Liam smiles, but there was a feeling of sadness behind it. "Anyway I hope Mila feels better. Call me if you need anything."

Harry silently watches him go and mulls over what Liam just said to him.

 

After about an hour of trying to put Mila back to sleep, Louis and Harry quietly sneak out of her room.

It took too many tries to get Mila to take her antibiotic. After Louis failed at trying to bribe their daughter with toys, Harry had the brilliant idea of mixing the medicine in some apple sauce.

Thankfully the apple sauce masked most of the nasty flavor of the medicine and Mila happily ate it.

“You’re an absolute genius Harry,” Louis sighs happily. “Putting it in apple sauce, who would have thought?”

Harry smiles proudly, “I’m just smart like that you know.”

“You looked it up on google didn’t you?” Louis looks at him skeptically.

“I might have,” Harry smiles innocently, making Louis laugh.

Harry takes his time to admire the crinkles around his eyes. He doesn’t stare too long, in fear of getting caught.

Harry lets out a breath and leans against the hallway wall.

“Can I ask you something? It’s about your retirement.”

Louis slowly nods his head, almost like he was afraid of what Harry was about to ask.

“I know you already told me why you’re retiring,” Harry starts. “But I just need to know that you’re not retiring because of anything I said in the past.”

Louis looks at him, confused, “What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean Lou. It’s the main reason we got divorced. I would always ‘nag’ you about choosing footie over us. I just hope that didn’t influence you in your decision to retire,” Harry gnaws at his bottom lip.

Louis lets out a sigh and runs his hands through his hair.

“I’ll be honest, that did have a small influence, but ultimately this is my decision Harry. I genuinely do want to retire. I’ve given all I have to the game, I’m ready to hang it up.” 

Harry looks at him with a sad smile, “Is it awful that I’m kinda glad you’re retiring?”

Louis chuckles, “No. I mean I’m fine with it. It’s just football has been all I’ve known and leaving it behind is going to be hard.”

“You’ll be okay,” Harry puts a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, you know I always supported you and your career right? I know it didn’t seem like it when you became captain, but I truly did have your back all the way.”

No matter how many times Harry hated coming home to an empty bed, he never once lost support for his husband.

“I know you did. You were my number one fan,” Louis grins. “It’s just sometimes I think things would be different if I did something else you know? Maybe if I didn’t take that promotion then-”

“Louis don’t even dare finish that sentence,” Harry interrupts him. “We accepted that position together remember? I could have said no and I knew you wouldn’t have taken it, but I said yes because you were meant to be the captain of that team. I don’t want you to ever regret taking that position.”

Harry takes a deep breath before continuing, “Look of course I hated that you played footie more than hang out with us-”

“I didn’t-”

“Let me finish,” Harry gives him a stern look and Louis quickly shuts his mouth.

“The kids missed you but especially me. Almost every night I would lay in bed alone and cry myself to sleep, asking myself if I was good enough for you,” Harry’s voice cracks at his confession. “I was just so angry at myself for letting our marriage turn out like it did.”

He never told Louis this and it felt good to finally tell someone. He suffered alone for too long.  

Harry slides down to the floor and hugs his legs close to his chest.

Louis sits right beside him with their knees touching.

“I-I had no idea. I’m so sorry that I made you feel like that. Jesus I didn’t even notice that my own husband was unhappy,” Louis clenches his fists. “You deserved the best and I couldn’t even be there for you when you needed me.”

Harry looks up at him and sees tears in his eyes.

“Louis you did give me the best. Some of my happiest memories are with you,” Harry takes Louis’s hand into his. “A part of me will always love you. Nothing will change that. This divorce was not out of hate, it was meant to give us room to grow and I don’t think we would be able to do that if we were constantly fighting.”

His eyes were anything but dry by the time he was finished. He loved this man so much and it hurt to let him go. It hurts even more to admit it.

Louis squeezes his hand and leans his head on Harry’s shoulder. “A part of me will always love you too,” Louis let’s out a wet laugh. “Fuck you know this hurts so much.”

Harry snuggles him closer, “I know.”

They sat on that hardwood floor for a while, letting out everything that they were too scared to share.  

All of a sudden the two men are being embraced on both sides by their two oldest children.

“We don’t know what’s happening here, but we love you guys,” Beck said.

“Yeah and this ground is probably filthy but we could care less,” Olivia chimes in.

Harry was so thankful for his children. He doesn’t know what he would do without them.

“You are the best children we could have asked for,” Louis voices his thoughts.

They sit on the floor embracing each other for who knows how long. All that mattered was that they were healing and it felt good.

Harry thinks back to what Liam said to him and he can’t help but agree; it felt good to have his family whole again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed! Tell me what you guys think. Oh and before you leave if you want updates on this work or want to chat then follow me on my new twitter @LTHSFICS  
> ~DJN


	5. Bananas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PREVIEW:  
> “Don’t tell me I walked in on a deep throat competition with bananas,” Niall deadpans while surveying the two men in the kitchen with bananas stuffed down their throats.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We made it! So much is happening in the fandom right now, I’m surprised that I actually had time to update this. Fun fact I re-did this whole chapter twice because I didn’t like how I originally wrote it so hopefully you’ll enjoy it. Have fun reading!

It was strange having Louis back in the house, but the thing was it hasn't been that bad like Harry anticipated. It was actually comforting knowing that he wasn't the only adult in the house for once. As much as he loves his children it can be stressful having to handle them by himself, so having Louis back was a huge help.

Something that surprised Harry was that he and Louis fell in the same routine like it was nothing. It was like they just picked up from where they left off.

Harry even realized that he was unconsciously doing things that he used to do when they were living together. Like making two cups of tea rather than one, cooking Louis’s favorite meals, and he even started using Louis's favorite laundry detergent.

Thankfully, so far no one seemed to have noticed this and Harry chose to be oblivious to it. It was only for a week anyway. Once Louis was gone, everything was going to go back to how it was.

If there was one complaint that Harry has about having Louis back under the same roof, it's the awkward encounters that keep happening. It was mostly little things like running into each other when the other one is shirtless or accidentally bumping into one another when in the kitchen.

Harry knew that there was going to be some awkwardness between them, but he didn't anticipate how often those kind of moments would keep happening. He doesn't know how much more he could take.

But thankfully today was a rare day where Harry had some time for himself. Olivia and Beckham were over at their friend's house and he sent Louis to the store with a long list of things to buy. Which was also another convenience of having Louis back; he could make him run errands for him.  

Harry finishes putting Mila to sleep and decides to use this little amount of alone time to his advantage by cleaning the house. He wants to laugh at how lame that sounded. His 18 year old self would be shaking his head. 

Nonetheless, it's been a while since he took the time to thoroughly clean the house and his mother would be very disappointed if she saw the state of it.

Nick's always telling him to just hire someone to clean for him, but Harry has trust issues with letting strangers into the house after the nanny he hired last year. 

The only reason Harry hired a nanny was because since the divorce, he needed someone to watch the kids while he was away for work. 

The lady he hired seemed trusting enough when he interviewed her, but one night when he came home he noticed that some of his rings were missing. 

At first Harry convinced himself he just misplaced them until one day he noticed that the nanny was wearing one of  _his_ rings. He knew it was one of his rings because it was the same custom ring Louis gave him on their first wedding anniversary. 

After that incident Harry was very selective with who he let into his house. He never told Louis about it because he didn't want to seem like he was struggling without him. 

 Thankfully now that Olivia and Beckham are a little more mature they're able to be left alone with Mila. 

As for the cleaning, well Harry could handle that part on his own. He actually enjoyed cleaning, like gardening, it was a way to clear his mind.

Harry puts his earpods in and starts with cleaning the living room. 

After about an hour, he was impressed at how much he had gotten done. he scrubbed the floors, dusted the furniture and did the laundry. The last thing that he had to do was restock the towels in the bathrooms. See, he didn't need a housekeeper. 

For some reason when he and Louis designed the house, they decided to put a bathroom in all the bedrooms and two extra ones on each floor. Apparently bathrooms were a vital necessity to them at the time. 

Harry grabs a basket full of towels and starts to make his way around the whole house. When he finally gets to the last bathroom, which was the master suite, he lets out a breath of relief.  Sometimes he forgot how big their house was and his legs were starting to get sore.

Harry was too busy swinging his hips to Beyoncé that he doesn’t notice that the shower was running.  

When Harry opens the door he is met with a blurred silhouette of a naked Louis behind the fogged shower glass.

“Oh my god!” Harry clutches his chest.

Louis abruptly turns around at his outburst. “Jesus Harry you scared the shit out of me! I could have fell!”

Harry’s eyes fall to the ground, trying to avoid seeing anything that he’s not supposed to see.

“I thought you went to the store! When the hell did you get back?!” He asks still trying to calm his heart down.

“I came back a few minutes ago,” Louis explains. “I even tried saying hi to you, but you had your earpods in.”

Harry blushes, hoping that Louis didn’t come in when he was using the mop as a microphone.

“Why are you even in this bathroom?” Harry asks. “You have your own.”

“We both know that this shower has the best water pressure in the whole house. Why would I settle for anything less?” Louis asks cheekily.

Harry rolls his eyes even though Louis couldn’t see him. Instead of continuing this awkward conversation, he goes back to the task at hand which was restocking the towels.

Even though there is a shower wall and steam separating the two, it wasn’t enough to block out the thought that Louis was indeed naked on the other side.

It was starting to get a little too hot for Harry so he quickly folds the towels, not caring if they were neat or not. After he places the last towel down, he hurries to get the hell out of there.

But of course Louis wasn’t going to make that easy for him. Before he can even make it out the room, the water shuts off and a hand pops out from the shower door, stopping him in his tracks.

“Oi before you leave can you hand me a towel please?” Louis wiggles his fingers in front of him.

Harry internally groans. “Lazy piece of shit,” he grumbles under his breath.

“What was that Harry?”

“Nothing Lou,” he responds sweetly. “Of course I’ll grab you a towel.”

 Harry reluctantly turns around and grabs one of the newly washed towels.

“Here you are your majesty, is there anything-“

Harry stops breathing when he turns around to see the shower door wide open, revealing his very naked and wet ex-husband.

Louis notices his reaction and smirks. He knew exactly what he was doing, which made Harry even more annoyed.

Since Harry was stood there frozen, Louis just grabs the towel from his hands.

“Thanks H,” Louis said as he starts to pat himself dry. “Oh and you used my favorite detergent!”

He watches Louis stick his face into the towel and takes a deep inhale, acting like he wasn’t completely naked in front of him.

Harry on the other hand was still motionless. When he realizes that he still hasn’t said a word, he forces himself out of the state of shock he was in.

“Oh yeah um I bought it this morning,” Harry said awkwardly, trying to figure out a way to get himself out of this situation.

Harry purposefully looks everywhere else that isn’t wet naked skin.

“You still remember what I like huh?” Louis said like he was impressed that he remembered.  

Harry glances over to him and sees that he is still drying himself off.

 _Who takes this long to dry themselves?!_ Harry thinks to himself.

Unable to take the heat anymore Harry decides that he needs to leave before he does something he regrets.

“Yeah,” Harry clears his throat. “Anyways I should get going.”

He tries to leave like he wasn’t freaking out, but of course Louis notices how stiff he was and the slight blush across his cheeks.

“Hold on are you actually embarrassed?” Louis’s voice stops him. “Harry you’ve seen me naked more times than I’ve seen myself naked!”

“We’re not together anymore so it’s weird okay,” Harry huffs.

He had the right to feel embarrassed it’s been years since he has seen Louis completely naked and now since they’re divorced it makes things extra uncomfortable.

“Oh I see what’s going on here,” Louis has a smug grin on his face. “You’re scared that if you get one peek of my _goods_ you’re gonna come running back to me.”

Harry can’t help but laugh, “You Mr. Tomlinson are funny. I see that you’re still humble as ever,” he says sarcastically.

The thing was Louis was entitled to be proud of his body. Harry has seen Louis naked plenty of times before and he has yet to come across anyone who looks as beautiful as him.

Harry props one hand on his hip. “Look I’m not some horny teenager that will jump a naked guy the moment he gets one.”

Louis chuckles and thankfully starts to wrap the towel around his waist. And Harry should really be leaving but he can’t help but watch Louis’s abs and biceps flex due to the movement.

Louis catches him staring again. “You know I charge 5 pounds each minute you stand there and stare at me.”

Harry diverts his eyes. “Why so expensive? There’s not much to look at anyway.”

Louis has a knowing smirk on his face. “Sure Haz, then tell me why you’re still here?”

Harry fumbles for words to say and Louis takes advantage of this by stepping out of the shower and getting into Harry’s space.

“You alright Haz? You seem a bit…flustered.” Louis was so close that Harry could feel the steam radiating off his body.

“I have no idea what you mean,” Harry composed himself and looks him straight in the eye.

Louis leans over and puts his mouth against Harry’s ear.

Harry shivers at the feeling and tries not to get too affected by it.

“Mhm well your little friend down there tells me all I need to know,” Louis gestures to Harry’s obvious hard-on.

Harry didn’t even notice and tries to cover himself up, but Louis stops him by grabbing him by the waist. Louis suddenly presses his body closer and Harry has to stifle a moan by biting his lip.

“It’s good to know that I still have this effect on you,” Louis whisper’s in his ear. “Looks like some things never change huh?”

Instead of pushing him away, Harry stands his ground. If this is how Louis wants to play then it’s only fair that he plays along too.  

“And you’re still Tommo the tease,” Harry has a sudden surge of confidence and backs away just enough to look at him. “But there is one thing that has changed,”

Harry pauses for dramatic effect and bends down to whisper in Louis’s ear, “I have no problem resisting you,” he says in his deep syrupy tone, that he knows Louis was a sucker for.

Louis visibly shivers which Harry can’t help but revel in. He wasn’t the only one that could play this game.

“Looks like I still have an effect on you as well,” Harry smiles victoriously and pat’s Louis on his cheek. “I’ll see you later Lou. I have to take care of my _‘little friend’_.”

Harry gives him a cheeky wink and leaves Louis standing there with his own “little friend” to take care of.

\----------

This was how it was throughout the whole week. They would tease each other until one of them would crack.

Thankfully there hasn’t been any more incidents like the one in the bathroom but some of the things Louis were doing were just unfair.

Like on Wednesday morning, Harry planned on going out early to tend to his garden, but he stopped in his tracks when he saw Louis out there playing football, shirtless.

The only thing he had on were these tiny short that did nothing to conceal anything. He was covered in sweat, making his muscles glisten in the sunlight. He was a living, breathing wet dream.

When Louis spotted Harry, he smirked and continued to practice his kicks, ignoring his drooling ex-husband.

Let’s just say Harry didn’t get to garden his tomatoes that morning.

The next day Harry decided to get him back by doing yoga in nothing but his tight leggings.

When Louis came down, Harry was in the middle of doing downward dog.

Harry heard a groan from behind and looked between his legs to see Louis standing there with a distressed look on his face.

“You alright there Lou?” Harry asks with a shit-eating grin.

Instead of answering him Louis let’s out a groan and trudged his way back upstairs.

“You’re actually obscene!” Louis shouts.

That just made Harry laugh even more.

It’s safe to say they were both sexually frustrated at this point but for some reason Harry didn't mind. He hates to admit it, but he was enjoying their little game. 

Besides the sexual frustrated part, Harry was actually excited to see what Louis would do next. It made him feel like a teenager again.

This definitely was not what Harry expected when Louis was staying for the week. He thought that they would be fighting non-stop like usual, but for the most part it was just light-hearted banter.

Like right now Louis was trying to seduce him by eating a banana, but he misjudged how much he could fit and started to choke. Harry couldn’t stop laughing, creating tears in his eyes.  

At the end they ultimately decided to have a little contest on who could fit the most banana in their mouths.

This is how Niall found them when he dropped off Beck from their football session.

“Don’t tell me I walked in on a deep throat competition with bananas,” Niall deadpans while surveying the two men in the kitchen with bananas stuffed down their throats.

Louis and Harry both look at each other with bananas halfway out of their mouths and couldn’t help but burst out in laughter.

Pieces of banana were spat out, landing on the kitchen floor and counter.  

Niall just looks on with disgust. “You guys are terrible. What if it was one of your kids that walked in huh? How would you explain yourselves?”

Harry wipes the spit from his face with the back of his hand. “We would just say we love bananas so much,” he smiles cheekily.

“Yeah so much that you guys are choking on them,” Niall shakes his head, amused. “Oh Lou, Beck told me he wants to talk to you about buying him a new pair of football boots.”

“Another pair? That boy already has a closet full,” Louis said disapprovingly.

“Oh don’t act like you can’t afford it,” Niall said.

“I’m just saying I don’t want to spoil my kids anymore. I want them to know that they can’t have everything they want just because we have money.”

Harry just stands there and rolls his eyes fondly. He knows all too well that Louis can’t say no to the kids. He was too soft when it came to them.

“I’ll do it right now,” Louis says confidently. “I’ll tell Beckham that he can’t have another pair of footie boots,” he tries to convince himself.

Before he leaves Harry grabs him by the arm. “Wait Lou, you still have some banana on your face.”

Harry unconsciously wipes the piece of banana from the corner of Louis’s mouth with his thumb.

Louis let’s himself be cleaned and watches Harry carefully, as he wipes the fruit off of him.

Harry let’s his thumb linger on his bottom lip and stares right into Louis’s eyes. “There, now our son will take you seriously,” he whispers trying not to disturb the moment.

Louis smiles at him, making his eyes crinkle. “Thanks Harry.”

This is the first time in a long time where Harry has the urge to kiss him. He glances down at his lips and looks back up to see Louis with a challenging look, as if he was daring him to do something. 

Before Harry could accept the dare, the moment is ruined when they hear someone gagging. They both turn to see Niall in a coughing fit with a banana in his hand.

“Jesus how the hell did you guys get this down so far?” Niall looks down at the banana with wide eyes.

Harry reluctantly let’s go of Louis and steps back so that there’s space in between them.

“Practice Niall. Practice,” Louis chuckles. He looks back at Harry and smiles nervously. “I’ll go talk to Beck then.”

Harry nods his head and looks down at the kitchen counter, trying to hide his embarrassment.

As soon as Louis was gone, Niall looks at Harry with amusement.

“So you and Louis huh?” he wiggles his eyebrows

“What about me and Louis?” Harry plays dumb.

“I’m not blind Harry. I can feel the sexual tension, it’s like I’m suffocating in it. I mean I caught you guys giving each other imaginary blow jobs with bananas!”

Harry shakes his head and blushes. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh okay just ignore the fact that you guys want to sleep together,” Niall says as he takes a bite out of his banana that he just was choking on. “Also I think you’re gonna need more bananas.”

\----------

“You guys don’t really have to go you know. It’s probably going to be a boring game anyway.”

Harry looks over to Louis and sees a rare look of nervousness on his face. “You’re playing Manchester United, it’s always a good game with them,” Harry quirks his eyebrow. “Unless you don’t want us to go?” he asks.

Louis immediately shakes his head. “No it’s not like that. It’s just I don’t want Mila to go if she’s not feeling good.”

Harry knew he was lying because Mila had already finished her medicine and was thankfully feeling much better now.

“Look if you don’t want us to come to your game then just say it.” Harry had no idea why Louis was acting so weird. He usually was encouraging the kids to go to his games. 

“It’s not like that H. It’s just,” Louis hesitates and looks at Harry shyly. “You haven’t been to one of my games since the divorce.”

Harry stares at him surprised. He didn’t even realize that it’s been three years since he went to one of Louis’s game. Of course he would watch it from the TV but that isn’t the same. Physically being there was a whole other experience.

“Oh um well if me being there puts pressure on you, I’ll stay home and Gemma can take the kids to the game,” Harry suggests. He was kind of looking forward to going but he rather not go if he’s just going to be a distraction. 

“No, you don’t have to do that. I’m just being weird,” Louis laughs to himself. “I actually want you to be there. It’ll be nice to see you in those stands again, cheering me on.”

Harry’s heart starts to beat a little faster without his permission. “Are you sure? I don’t want to distract you.”

“You won’t,” Louis shoots him a reassuring smile. “Alright well I’m gonna start heading up to the pitch. I’ll see you guys there.”

“Oh and before you leave,” Harry stops him. “I wanted to ask if I still get a discount on beer.”

Louis laughs, creating crinkles by his eyes. “I think you do but if not I’ll make sure to let them know to give you one.”

“Appreciate it. Good luck out there Lou, we’ll be cheering you on.”

Louis comes in for a hug because that’s a thing they do now apparently. Harry let’s himself be embraced by his warmth for a second before letting go.

“Oh and if you don’t want to distract me, you mind not wearing that top? Thanks!” Louis shoots him a wink before rushing out the house.

Harry looks down at what he was wearing and frowns. He was just wearing his Arsenal football top. He didn’t know why Louis would be distracted by him…oh.

Harry turns to look at his back in the wall mirror and sees the words, “PROPERTY OF 28” sewn in. He totally forgot that.

He quickly slips out of the shirt and just puts on a basic black tee. As much as Harry liked that Arsenal top, he should think about just storing it away. It wasn’t like he was going to wear it anymore.

It was an hour before kick-off when they finally get there. Harry wanted to get there early because he wanted enough time to find their seats and wish Louis good luck.

“I’m glad you’re here papa. It’s been a while since you’ve came with us to a game,” Beckham said as they’re walking their way over to where Louis was.

“Yeah I know. It’s been a long time since I went to a game just to have fun and not for work.”

Sometimes Harry forgot how much he enjoys the game when he’s working. He’s usually so focused on the technical side of football that he forgets to just appreciate the game as it is. Hopefully today he can get back to just being a football fan instead of a journalist.  

 “Dad!” Olivia exclaims as Louis comes into view.

He was in his full football gear and was right outside the locker room doors, waiting for them. Louis spreads his arms wide for his kids to come hug him.

“You guys excited?” Louis asks them.

“Yeah! Is uncle Niall and uncle Liam here too?” Beckham asks, looking over his shoulder to try to get a glimpse of them.

“Actually they’re still getting ready so you’ll see them after the game. But hey I got a surprise for you guys,” Louis pauses for a dramatic effect, making the kids impatient. “I reserved a club box for you guys to watch the game in.”

“Sweet! I love watching the games from there,” Beckham was bouncing on his feet from excitement.

“Thank you Louis, you didn’t have to do that,” Harry tells him.

“It’s all good. I just want you guys to have a good time. I’ll have security escort you guys up there.”

They say their last goodbyes and good lucks before departing.

As they’re walking to the box Olivia grabs hold onto his hand. “Dad seems to be in a really good mood today.”

“Well you know how your father gets when it’s game day.”

“I know but he just seems brighter today,” Olivia said. “And I have a feeling it has something to do with you being here.”

Harry lifts his eyebrows. “Um I don’t know about that Liv.”

“Maybe you don’t. But I do.”

Harry glances over to his daughter who has a small smile on her face. Interesting.

As they take their seat the players were already warming up on the pitch. Harry leans over the railing and quickly finds Louis who was currently doing squats.

Harry quickly looks away, not wanting to get too affected by the sight of him. Louis could be very overwhelming even when he didn’t try to be.

As he is still trying to get himself comfortable he hears his kids yelling at something. When he looks over he sees themselves on the big screen of the stadium.

Cheers are heard from the crowd and a small chant of “Larry” started to echo through the stadium. Thankfully the chant didn’t go on for too long. Curious stares start to wonder up toward where they were, probably wondering why Louis Tomlinson’s ex-husband was here.

When Harry looks back onto the field he sees Liam and Niall staring up at him curiously. He gives them a small wave which they reciprocate before approaching Louis with serious expressions on their faces. He wonders what they could be talking about.

The stadium was starting to fill up and the players were starting to go to their designated sidelines, signaling that the game was about to start.

Harry sits back in his seat and opens a beer for himself. If he was going to watch a football game then he was going to do it right.

The game was already proving to be a good game for Arsenal. They already scored a goal on their first possession and now Niall just made an amazing stop at the net.

Liam currently has the ball and he passes it over to Louis who easily accepts it and starts making a beeline toward the goal.

“Dad looks to be in really good shape,” Beckham comments.

And Harry can’t help but agree. It’s crazy to think that this man was going to retire already. He still has so much in him.

Louis goes in to score but it ricochets off the crossbar, making the whole crowd groan. Fortunately the ball lands in front of Liam who circles back to try again.

But instead of watching the ball Harry’s eyes drift over to Louis was who face to face with another player from Man-U. It seemed to be just your normal defending but then all of a sudden Louis lands a punch on the guy’s jaw.

The guy falls down in pain, bringing the whole stadium’s attention onto them. A red card is pulled out for Louis who was still seething with rage. Harry watches as Liam holds Louis back from causing any more damage.

“Oh no dad,” Olivia said as she watches her dad get practically dragged off the field.

Harry clutches the railing hard, trying to control his emotions.

“Why would dad do that?” Beckham asks. 

Harry would like to know that exact question too. “I don’t know. That guy probably said something to upset him.”

“We should go down there and find him,” Beckham suggests.

“No we’ll see your dad after the game. Let him cool down for a moment.”

Beckham looks reluctant but decides not to argue.

As much as Harry wanted to run down there and comfort Louis, he knew he wouldn’t be much help right now. Whatever happened, Louis must have had some reason to just punch that guy.

\-----(Louis POV)-----

Louis still cannot believe Harry woke up that morning and decided to put on that top. Did he really do that just to fuck around with him because it worked! He remembers when Harry first wore that to one of his games and he could hardly concentrate on anything else.

He just hopes Harry listened and put on another shirt.

As he is warming up on the pitch he hears a boom of cheering and yelling from the crowd. He looks up to see what the fuss is all about and finds his ex-husband and children on the big screen.

The camera pans over to just Harry, who had a slight flush on his face, and the crowd cheers even louder and he swears he hears a low cheer of “Larry” run through the crowd.

“We didn’t know Harry was coming.”

Louis looks over to see Niall and Liam walking toward him.

“Uh yeah he wanted to come and see us play. It’s been a while,” Louis shrugs as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“Yeah it’s been since your divorce Louis,” Liam points out. “Are you sure you won’t get distracted?”

Louis shakes his head. “Of course not. My head is all in the game right now, I promise.”

Niall smiles and puts an arm around him. “You know I think it’s awesome that he’s here. You guys seem to be getting on really well huh?”

Louis blushes uncontrollably at Niall’s suggestive tone. “We’re just going back to being friends. Nothing more.”

Before Liam or Niall could respond the whistle goes off signaling for the game to get started soon.

“Alright boys let’s kick some Man-U arse!” Niall exclaims, making the rest of the team laugh at his enthusiasm.

They were doing really well so far. They’ve already scored on their first possession and Niall made an incredible stop. Now he has the ball and was already setting up for another goal.

But instead the ball hits the crossbar, making him and the crowd groan. Louis feels a feeling of frustration wash over him, after making it this far and not scoring. Luckily Liam tracks down the ball and tries to find an opening.

Louis is so focused on the ball that he doesn’t even notice one of Man-U players running up to him.

“Hey Tommo! I saw your boy toy on the screen! He looks very pretty. I wouldn’t mind seeing him beneath me every night.”

Louis tenses up and squares his shoulders back, facing him head on. “Excuse me?”

The guy smirks, knowing exactly what he was doing.  “I mean you guys are divorced right? So you wouldn’t mind me scoring there would you?”

Before Louis could even think about what he was doing, he throws his arm back and lands a punch on the guy’s jaw.

He watches as he falls and Louis suddenly registers what he just did once he feels his fist throbbing.

“Don’t you fucking talk about him like that you fucking cunt!” Louis yells out and he suddenly feels a pair of arms holding him back.

“Louis calm down!” Liam shouts in his ear.

“Talk all the shit you want about me but do not bring my husband into this!” Louis doesn’t even realize what he’s saying, he just knows he’s pissed off.

He lets Liam carry him away all the way to the tunnel.

“Louis just fucking calm down!” Liam puts his hands on top of his shoulders and tries to relieve some of the tension.

Louis takes a deep breath and breaks out of Liam’s hold to kick at a nearby trash bin. The contents spill out and the sound of metal hitting concrete echo through the hallway.

“What the hell was that out there then?” Liam asks.

Louis runs his hands through his hair. “I lost it I know.”

“Yeah you did. What the fuck Louis? Your kids are here today and now we don’t have our captain.”

“I’m sorry,” Louis groans. “That guy said some fucked up things about Harry and I couldn’t just let him get away with that shit.”

Liam sighs and Louis could feel the disappointment radiating off of him.

“Are we even going to talk about what you said on the pitch?”

Louis immediately knows what he’s talking about. “No, it was just the heat of the moment kind of thing.”

“Louis you called Harry your-”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it!” Louis shouts. “Just get back to the game Liam. Make sure my fuck-up doesn’t affect our team.”

Liam looks at him with concern before doing what he says and running back on the pitch. He fucked up he knows that, he just hopes his team doesn’t pay for it.

\-----------

Harry receives a text from Louis saying that he was gonna head home so don’t wait up for him. He looks down at his phone and simply sends a thumbs up.

Instead of focusing on what just happened, Harry decided to just focus on the game and cheer on for their team.

“Dad won’t answer any of my calls,” Beckham said sadly.

Harry pulls him in and rubs his back reassuringly. “He’s probably really upset right now. We’ll see him tomorrow morning though don’t worry.”

“Oh we should make his favorite breakfast to cheer him up!” Olivia suggests.

Harry smiles at her. “That’s a brilliant idea, I’m sure he would love that.”

By the time the game ended it was already dark out and kids were totally exhausted. Arsenal did end up winning which was good after what happened with Louis.

After he puts Mila down in her bed, he looks over at the door of the room Louis was in and sees the light still on in there.

Harry walks up to door and softly knocks.

He hears rustling on the other side and suddenly the door opens.

Louis looks at him with surprise. “Oh Harry you guys are back home, good.”

“Yeah we just got here.”

Harry stands there awkwardly waiting for Louis to say something.

“Oh uh you want to come in?” he asks finally.

Harry simply nods and sits himself down on the bed. “I just wanted to check up on you.”

“I’m fine,” Louis sighs. “Just tired is all.”

“So…what happened out on the pitch?”

Louis just stares at him, contemplating if he should tell him. Eventually he sits next to Harry and lets out a breath.

“That prick started saying shit about you.”

“About me?” Harry says surprised. “What he say?”

“Just that you were pretty and basically said he wanted to sleep with you.”

Harry frowns. “Those sound like compliments to me.”

Louis rolls his eyes. “Trust me with the tone he was using he was basically degrading you. Even called you my boy toy,” he scoffs. 

“So you punched him because he was being disrespectful towards me?”

“Uh yeah. Why do you sound so surprised?”

Harry shrugs. “I don’t know. It’s just I didn’t think you still would defend me like that.”

“Of course I would. I stick up for all my friends. No one says shit like that to me and gets away with it.”

“Well uh thanks,” Harry grins up at him. “For defending my honor and all that.”

“You’re very welcome my king,” Louis bows his head dramatically.

Harry can’t help but laugh at his antics. “I just wish you did it without violence though. The kids saw you.”

“I know,” Louis sighs. “Are they alright? I didn’t scare them or anything right?’

“No they were just very worried,” Harry leans in to whisper the next part. “Oh and I’m not supposed to tell you this but they’re making your favorite breakfast tomorrow morning so make sure to sleep a couple more hours before heading downstairs.”

Louis chuckles fondly. “I’ll make sure to turn off my alarm then.”

Harry stands up and decides it’s time for him to leave. “I uh also wanted to say…I’m glad you’re here Louis.”

“Yeah? I’m not annoying you yet?” Louis jokes.

“No not yet,” Harry smiles down at the ground, “Anyway have a good night.”

Louis watches him leave until the door shuts closed. “Goodnight my king.”  

\----------

It was the last day of the week meaning that it was also the last night Louis was going to stay with them.

Since it was going to be the last night they decided that it would be a good time to have a night-in with the whole family. Despite some protests, Harry convinced them that they should put on face masks and then watch a movie afterwards.

It was a weird time for all of them. Harry didn’t want Louis to leave, but he knew it was best for both of them if he did. The kids obviously were very disappointed he was leaving. They didn’t say it, but Harry could see it in their expressions that they weren’t happy.

“I cannot believe I’m doing this,” Beckham grumbles, as Harry puts a glob of the clay mask on his face. “Face masks are for girls.”

“Hey now that isn’t true,” Louis responds, while already having his own face mask applied. “There is nothing on the label that says that this is exclusively for women.”

“Your dad is right,” Harry nods in agreement. “Anyway there is nothing wrong for men to have good skin.”

Harry finishes up putting the mask on his son’s face and smiles fondly when he sees the outcome. “Aw look how cute you are.”

Beckham immediately goes to the mirror and his eyes widen, “I look ridiculous.”

Olivia comes up behind him and snickers, “I don’t know, I think you look much better like this.”

“Shut up. You don’t look any better either,” Beckham glares at his sister.

Harry comes in between them to stop their little sibling squabble, “Stop it you two.”

“Yeah stop your arguing,” Louis backs him up. “All that frowning is going to crack the mask.”

“Who cares about the dumb mask? I still don’t know why we’re doing this,” Beckham rolls his eyes.

Harry decides not to scold his son for his attitude. He understood why he was being like this and he didn’t blame him.

“Because it’s been a while since we had a family night and it’s your dad’s last night here,” Harry tries explaining to his son.

“Yeah and whose fault is that,” Beckham mutters under his breath, but everyone in the room clearly heard him.

“Beckham!” Louis scolds.  

After Harry recovers from the shock of his son’s snide remark, he tries to calm Louis down. “Louis it’s alright, he-”

“No it’s not alright. Beckham apologize to your dad right now,” Louis insists.

“For what? For wanting to live with both my dads again?” Beckham asks vehemently. “I just don’t understand why you two can’t just make up already.”

“Beck it’s more complicated than that."

“Oh stop saying that!” Beckham yells out, frustrated. “We haven’t seen you two this happy in so long! Can’t you guys see that you’re better together!?”

Harry watches Louis pinch the bridge of his nose trying to relieve some tension. This has gotten out of hand and Harry had no idea what to do. Beckham was usually so reserved when it came to the divorce so this was new territory for all of them.

“You said _we_ ,” Louis comments and directs his gaze to their oldest daughter. “Olivia do you feel the same way as Beck?”

Olivia looks nervously between her parents before slowly nodding her head yes. “I mean he’s not wrong. You and dad have been getting on so well since he’s been here. Also at the game dad was so excited papa was there.”

Louis and Harry both look at each other but quickly look away once their eyes meet.

Both men knew that their kids had a point, but they would never admit that.

It’s true that they have gotten along really well since Louis has been there, but that doesn’t mean anything. They still have their problems and this one week could not fix all of that.

Harry takes a deep breath and kneels to his kid’s height. “Kids, me and your dad did get on really well this week and it’s been really fun,” Harry pauses to give a reassuring smile to Louis. “But there is so much more to fix between us. I know you won’t understand, but this is how it’s supposed to be.”

Both his kids stay silent for a moment before Beckham turns away to the sink. He turns on the faucet and starts to wash off the face mask.

“Beckham it hasn’t been 10 minutes yet,” Harry tries but Beckham continues to rub off the mask from his face.

“I don’t care,” Beckham dries his face off. “I’m going to bed. Goodnight.”

“But we were going to watch-” Harry doesn’t get to finish because Beckham was already out of the room.

“I think I’m gonna head up too,” Olivia says quietly. “Come on Mila.”

Olivia takes Mila who was completely oblivious to what just happened and leads her upstairs.

Harry watches his kids leave and a feeling of failure washes over him. Trying to explain to your kids that their parents weren’t going to get back together was not the easiest thing.

“H, come on get up,” Louis grabs him by the arm.

Harry didn’t even notice that he was still kneeling on the ground. He lets Louis help him up and leads him to the sofa.

“I screwed up, didn’t I?” Harry says eventually.

Louis immediately shakes his head. “No, _we_ screwed up. We should have known that this was going to happen.”

“I just don’t know what to do,” Harry said sadly. “I want them to be happy but I know the only way to do that is if we get back together.”

Which was never going to happen. As much as they value their kid’s happiness, they can’t just pretend that they’re okay and in love when in reality they’re not.

Harry suddenly gets up from the sofa and makes his way over to the big window overlooking the backyard. Something about nature always seemed to calm him down. That’s why gardening was so important to Harry.

As he is overlooking his newly planted tulips, his eyes stumble over to their guest house. Sometimes Harry forgot they even had one.

The only time they used it was when their extended family would come and visit. The shrubbery around the house was over grown and the windows were covered in dust and cob webs.

The house itself was actually decent. It had one bedroom, one bath and a functional kitchen. It was like a mini version of the main house.

All of a sudden an idea popped in Harry’s head and it could be the best idea he’s ever came up with or the absolute worse.

Louis comes up behind him and tentatively touches his shoulder. “Harry look I know things are bad but we have to-“

Harry abruptly turns around. “I have an idea!”

“Uh okay,” Louis looks at him with wide eyes, surprised at his sudden mood change. “Care to share?”

“Look this might sound totally insane, but this could be the compromise that makes everyone happy,” Harry says with excitement. “How about you move back in?”

Silence. That’s what’s heard after he says this. Louis just stares at him before bursting out in laughter.

“That’s too funny,” Louis wipes a non-existent tear from his eye. When he looks up and sees Harry with a straight face, he stops laughing.

“I’m not joking Lou,” Harry grabs Louis and makes him look out the window.

Louis squints his eyes, “What am I trying to look at?”

“The guest house!” Harry points at the house in the distance.

It take a minute for it to finally click in Louis’s mind. “Wait you want me to move into the guest house?”

“Yes! This way the kids don’t have to keep moving from place to place and they get to see both of us every day. Also you get to have your own space. Come on it’s not a bad idea…is it?”

Harry starts to get worried when Louis doesn’t say anything for a while. The idea made sense in his head, but now as he says it out loud he realizes how big of a leap this is.

They have been living on the opposite sides of London since the divorce and now suddenly Harry is suggesting that Louis should basically live in the backyard.

“I mean it’s not a bad idea, but Harry this is a big decision. This is gonna impact all of us. I need time to think about this and I think you do too.”

“Louis I just want our kids to be happy. I think this could really do that for them,” Harry tries to plead with him.

Louis looks down at the ground, “And how about you? Will this make you happy?”

Harry nods his head. “If our kids are happy then I’m happy.”

There’s a bit of a pause where Harry just stares at Louis intently, trying to read what’s going on in his mind. He used to be so good at that, but now it feels like he doesn’t know him at all.

“Well if we’re going to do this I have one condition,” Louis says suddenly.

Harry looks at him cautiously, scared of what he’s going to say. “What is it?”

“I want you to make me breakfast every morning-”

Harry snorts, “That’s easy I’ve been doing that for years.”

“-and deliver it to me wearing only an apron,” Louis finishes with a wicked grin on his face.

“No fucking way,” Harry says unamused.

“I’m only joking!” Louis snickers. “Only about the apron though, I do expect breakfast each morning.”

“That can I do. Deal,” Harry complies.

Louis let’s out a breath, “This is really happening then. I guess I should go tell the kids huh?”

“I think you should wait till the morning. I don’t want to wake them up.”

“Yeah you’re right,” Louis agrees. “It’ll be a good surprise when they see me sitting at the dining table in the morning.”

Harry grins at the thought of his kids coming down the stairs with shock written on their faces.

Now, he obviously wasn’t blind to the fact that this could potentially be a bad idea. With Louis basically living with him again, Harry has the right to be worried that they would revert back to their old ways where they were constantly fighting. 

But Harry was ready to risk it if it meant that his kids were happy. He can’t stand seeing the disappointment and sadness on their faces anymore. It was about time they had something to be excited for.

“Oh Harry before we do this,” Louis interrupts his thoughts. “We have to make it clear to them that just because I’m moving back in, doesn’t mean that we’re getting back together. I don’t want to give them false hope again.”

“Of course,” Harry easily agrees. “But I don’t think they’ll even be concerned about that once you tell them you're moving back in."

“I cannot believe we’re doing this,” Louis chuckles to himself. “People are going to think we’re insane you know?”

“Who cares,” Harry shrugs his shoulders. “The only people I’m concerned about is our kids.”

Louis can’t help but agree.

The next morning when the kids went downstairs you would have thought it was Christmas morning with how bright their faces got when they saw Louis.

\----------

There was a reason why Harry never took off from work. Even though he was away for just a week, his desk was piled up with a month worth of paperwork. The football world was constantly changing and it was not waiting up for anyone.

As Harry is shifting through some files, his door creaks open. He looks up and sees Gemma and Lottie enter his home office.

“Hello ladies,” Harry greets them as they sit themselves down in front of him. “I didn’t know you guys were coming by.”

Lottie crosses her legs and looks at him with a blank expression. “We just decided to stop by. We actually heard something that we wanted to talk to you about.”

“Alright what is it?” He asks suspiciously.

It was never good news if both of them came to talk to him without a warning. This almost felt like an ambush and he was the unsuspecting target.

“Olivia told us something very interesting the other day. Something about my brother moving into the guest house? Is that right?” Lottie quirks her eyebrows.

Harry sighs, he knew they were going to find out eventually but he didn’t think it would be this soon. “That would be correct.”

Gemma and Lottie give each other a look before turning back to him with serious expressions.

“Okay we’re gonna ask you this one time and one time only. Are you and Louis trying to fix things?” Gemma asks.

Luckily Harry was prepared for that question. He knew his sister and sister in-law well enough to know that they would ask that question.  

“No the only reason that we are doing this is for the sake of the kids. They weren’t happy with living with us separately and moving back and forth to central London, so this is our compromise.”

“So you’re doing this for the kids? This has nothing to do with you and Louis?” Lottie asks for clarification.

Harry nods his head. “Exactly. This move has nothing to do with me and Louis’s relationship.”

“Have you actually thought this through Harry? You really think this is a good idea?” Gemma asks with concern written on her face.

“Look I know how crazy this seems, but Louis and I already talked about this. We know what we’re getting into and we both agreed that it’s worth the risk.”

Harry looks them both in the eye trying to convey to them how serious he was. He appreciates their concern, but he was old enough to take care of himself.

“But won’t it be awkward when you two start bringing guys home or something?” Lottie asks suddenly.

Harry scrunches up his face. “I don’t know what you’re trying to get at.”

“Wow you are thick aren’t you,” Gemma rolls her eyes. “What she’s trying to say is, wouldn’t it be weird when Louis starts bringing blokes back home to fuck?’

Harry widens his eyes at her bluntness. “Woah where is this coming from?”

“Oh come on, it’s bound to happen. You’re gonna see Louis with some other guy and it’s gonna make you jealous and then you’re gonna storm in there and beat the shit out of him.”

“You guys watch too much reality TV,” Harry laughs at how dramatic his sisters are being.

“Don’t you think it’ll get weird?”

Harry can’t help but groan, “No and now can you two please get out of my office? I have a lot of work to do.”

Thankfully they both get up, with no complaints and start to head out the door.

Before Gemma leaves, she pauses by the doorway. “Look Harry, we didn’t come here to grill you or anything. We came here to make sure you guys don’t get hurt. We’ve already seen you guys break each other’s hearts, we don’t want to see it happen again.”

The door shuts, leaving Harry alone to his thoughts.

Harry goes over the conversation they just had and starts to think about what they said.

He never thought about it before but he and Louis never talked about bringing guys back home.

It shouldn’t bother him because they’re divorced, but imagining Louis and some other guy going at it just outside the house made him want to throw up.    

Harry buries his face into his hands and lets out a breath. He can get through this, there’s no need to freak out. Everything will work out in the end…hopefully.

\----------

That night Harry finds himself outside the guest house. He was standing at the door debating if he should even be there.

He doesn’t even know why he’s there. After the talk with Lottie and Gemma, he just felt like he needed to clarify things with Louis.

With a deep breath, Harry knocks on the door and waits.

It only takes a few minutes before Louis answers.

“Oh hey Harry, you need something?”

Harry fidgets with his hands. “Uh not really. I just wanted to see if you needed help unpacking?” He lies, not wanting to admit why he really was there.

“I do actually,” Louis smiles. “Come in, I just made some hot chocolate, you want some?”

Harry accepts his offer and walks in straight to the kitchen.

There were boxes everywhere and it looked like Louis hadn’t unpacked anything, even though he’s been here for almost 2 days already.

“Looks like you really need help with unpacking,” Harry comments as his eyes roam the empty shelves and walls.  

“Oh yeah I’ve been really distracted,” Louis picks up his laptop that was on the counter. “I’ve been trying to write my retirement speech. I just can’t seem to find the right words.”

Harry looks at the screen and sees that he has only a few sentences down. “Are you writing this for the team or for the public?”

“The team already knows,” Louis admits. “I told them a few days ago.”

“Oh yeah? How’d they react?”

“They were calm I guess,” Louis shrugs his shoulders. “They were shocked at first, but they slowly understood where I was coming from when I explained it to them.”

“They’re a good group of guys,” Harry comments off-handedly. “So this speech is going to be for the public then?”

“Yeah that’s why I’m taking my time with this. This is the speech that’s going to end my legacy after all.”

Harry nods his head in understanding, “Well if you need some help, I’m right here.”

“No I’m okay. This should be from my words only but if you want to help, can you start unpacking those boxes in the living room?”

Harry looks over and sees the multiple of unpacked boxes on the floor. “I can do that. Focus on writing that speech of yours.”

This wasn’t the reason why Harry came over but he’s glad that he could help. Harry knows how much Louis has been stressing about retirement, even though he doesn’t show it.  

Football was a big part of Louis so it made sense that he would be upset that it was ending.

As Harry watches Louis type away on his laptop, he can’t help but wonder what kind of speech is he going for. Is he going for a funny, sarcastic speech or is it going to be full of emotion and make the whole room cry? Maybe a mix of both?

Whatever it was Harry knew that it was going to be amazing.

“Oh Harry what did Gemma and Lottie want? I saw them walking out of your office earlier,” Louis breaks him out of his thoughts.

“They came by because they heard that you were moving back in. Gave me a whole lecture about how this could be a potential bad idea,” Harry chuckles.

“Why’d they say that?”

“Because they said it might get awkward once we start bringing other blokes back,” Harry laughs like it was the most ridiculous thing in the world.

He expects Louis to laugh too but when he looks up he sees that Louis had stopped typing and had a frown on his face.

“Lou? That shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

Louis snaps out it and plasters on a fake smile. “Nah, it shouldn’t be a problem. I mean it’s not like we’re going to be living in the same house anyway.”

Harry agrees, “Yeah, our sisters were just being dramatic as always.”

And that was the end of that conversation.

An hour later Harry had fully unpacked all the boxes in the living room and even organized everything into their proper places.

Louis stretches his arms above his head and lets out a yawn. “Alright that’s enough of that for tonight. I’ll finish it later.”

 “Ooo let me read it!” Harry makes grabby hands toward the laptop.

Before he could get his hands on it, Louis moves it from his grasp. “Nope, you’re just going to have to wait like the rest of the world.”

Harry can’t help but pout, “No fair.”

“Life isn’t fair darling,” Louis pats him on the head.

Harry smacks his hand away. “So when are you going to tell the kids?” Harry asks.

Louis’s face falls. “Shit, I totally forgot about that.”

Harry scoffs. “You forgot that you have to tell you own kids? You better tell them soon.”

Louis groans, “What do you think they’re gonna say?”

“They’ll say they love you and they support you no matter what,” Harry answers him, honestly.

“You don’t think they’ll be mad at me or anything?”

Harry immediately shakes his head. “Of course not. Why would they be mad at you?”

Louis shrugs, “I just don’t want to disappoint them. I mean we both know the kids are my biggest fans.”

“Yeah they are but they’re not fans of the football player Louis Tomlinson,” Harry says in a gentle tone. “They’re fans of their father. No matter what you do, they’ll always support you Lou.”

Louis gives him a small smile and surprisingly pulls him into a hug, “Thank you so much Harry.”

Harry freezes initially before reciprocating the hug. “Of course.”

Louis pulls away just enough for their eyes meet. They don’t say a thing but no words are necessary for what happens next.

Harry doesn’t know who moves in first but their lips meet for a brief second. As soon as their lips touched, it felt like a fire was reignited inside of him.

That light feather-like touch was enough for them to snap back to their senses.

They immediately pull apart and look at each other with wide eyes.

“I’m so sorry-”

“Harry I-”

They both interrupt each other at the same time. They look away, blushing, embarrassed at what just happened.

“Um I’ll head out now then,” Harry speaks up. “Good night Louis.”

“Yeah uh good night Harry,” Louis awkwardly shuffles to the side to let Harry leave.

They say their goodbyes and Harry leaves out the house as fast as he could.

Once he was outside, he lets out a breath into the night sky. He touches his lips where Louis’s lips just were, and he can’t help but yearn for more.

It was only half a second but Harry felt those butterflies in his stomach that he always got when he kissed Louis.

Harry felt ridiculous. How could that small kiss have this much of an effect on him still?

All he knew was that kiss, was just a onetime thing. He wasn’t going to let that happen again. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was mostly filler, but I hope you guys still enjoyed it. Don’t forget to give me some feedback down below. Have a good Thanksgiving everyone! I'll see you in the next update!  
> -DJN  
> Follow me on twitter @LTHSFICS for updates or if you just want to chat.


	6. The Parent Trap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PREVIEW:  
> "Mr. Tomlinson and Mr. Styles?" One of the waitresses calls them over, "We have your table ready for you."
> 
> "Oh we're waiting on the rest of our family to get here," Harry said. 
> 
> The waitress frowns and looks back at her computer screen. "I'm sorry sir but the reservation says it's only for two."
> 
> "What?" Harry and Louis said in unison.
> 
> "The reservation made by Anne, she set it for two," the waitress slowly repeats for them.
> 
> And yep Harry was going to kill his mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Happy Holidays! I wanted to put out a chapter before the new year so here it is! This chapter is full of fluff (like seriously I've never written anything more fluffy) and I'm usually not the biggest fan of it but I have to admit this is the cutest chapter I've ever written. 
> 
> Have Fun Reading!  
> -DJN

_Finding the person you want to spend the rest of your life with seems like it only happens in movies._

_After experiencing heartbreak after heartbreak, Harry was beginning to believe that was true. It wasn’t until he met Louis Tomlinson; The brash, loud, arrogant football player from Arsenal. Harry wouldn’t have imagined dating a guy like that, but now here they are engaged._

_It was the night before their wedding and they did nothing but prepare for their special day. Stress levels were at an all-time high because of all the preparations and since both grooms were perfectionists everything had to be in order before they could relax._

_Their family was definitely not making anything easier when they were putting in last minute requests. Just a few hours ago Harry found out that his mum changed the seating arrangements, which meant that he had to double-check to make sure no one was sitting next to someone they didn’t like._

_Because it was so last minute, Harry had to do this before he went to bed. He was biting the end of his pen, trying to keep himself awake, while going through the seating chart._

_Louis comes out from the bathroom and jumps into bed next him._

_“Hey Lou can we place your Aunt Lindsey next to your Uncle Ben?” Harry asks._

_Louis immediately shakes his head no. “Absolutely not. Remember I told you that they have a really messy history.”_

_Harry frowns. “Was she the one who kicked him out of the car and left him stranded on the road?”_

_“Nah that was my cousin June and her ex-husband Tim. Which by the way they cannot sit nowhere near one another,” Louis leans over his shoulder to look at the seating chart._

_“Okay,” Harry sighs in frustration and looks back down at his chart. “This shit is like a fucking puzzle.”_

_Louis huffs a laugh into his ear and places a gentle kiss on his shoulder. “Hey why don’t you put that away? It’s getting late.”_

_“I can’t. I have to make sure the seating arrangements are good or else there might be some unexpected drama at our wedding.”_

_Louis doesn’t seem to care since he takes the chart from Harry’s hands and replaces himself into his lap._

_“Louis,” Harry whines. He tries reaching for the chart from behind Louis’s back but he pulls it away. “I have to get that done!”_

_“No you don’t,” Louis starts to place kisses along his neck, trying to distract him. “You shouldn’t be this stressed on the night before our wedding darling.”_

_As much as Harry would love to continue on with this, he needed to get this done. Harry pouts and slides his hands onto Louis’s waist. “Please babe, I really need to finish this.”_

_Louis pulls back and sees the irresistible puppy dog eyes. “Fine go ahead,” he sighs and reluctantly gets up from Harry’s lap._

_Harry watches Louis grumpily slouch back in his spot and turns his back towards him._

_He always did turn into a drama queen when he didn’t get his way. Harry rolls his eyes fondly and wraps an arm around his fiancé._

_Harry looks down and sees that Louis’s eyes were shut closed, pretending that he was sleeping._

_This is the man he was going to spend the rest of his life with. This handsome, stubborn, silly man was going to be all his. Harry felt like the luckiest guy on earth._

_Harry looks down at his engagement ring that Louis gave to him and smiles. It still takes his breath away even now. The first time Harry laid his eyes on it was on the football pitch right after Arsenal won the Champions League._

_As soon as Harry went onto the field to congratulate his boyfriend, Louis was already waiting for him on one knee._

_It was just a simple gold band with emeralds surrounding it but it was gorgeous. When Harry asked why Louis picked emeralds, he replied saying that it reminded him of his eyes. Harry still makes fun of him for being such a sap to this day._

_Harry takes the initiative and rolls the fake sleeping Louis onto his back and crawls on top of him._

_He watches as the corners of Louis’s mouth lift up slightly, even though his eyes were still closed._

_“I know you’re not sleeping,” Harry cuddles against his bare chest._

_Louis peeks out of one eye. “Well I was until you climbed on top of me.”_

_“Oh well I’m sorry I disturbed you’re slumber King Louis,” Harry said with a fake posh accent._

_“You should be. I have a very important event tomorrow and I would like it if I had a good night sleep.”_

_“Really now?” Harry smirks. “Am I invited to this important event?”_

_Louis looks at him with amusement and bites his bottom lip, trying to stop himself from laughing. “Hm I don’t know it depends.”_

_“Depends on what?” Harry yawns, finally feeling the exhaustion from today._

_“You can only go if you put that damn seating chart away and go to sleep," Louis says cheekily._

_Harry rolls his eyes. "I'm just trying to make sure everything is in order Lou. I don't want to fuck up our special day."_

_"I know love but you need your rest," Louis moves a strand of hair from Harry's face. "And you're not going to fuck it up. As long as we get to say our I do's and eat cake then I count that as a successful wedding."_

_"Yeah? So you don't care if, let's say, your aunt and uncle start fighting during Liam's best man speech?"_

_Louis shrugs his shoulders. "I wouldn't even care if Niall starting stripping down during our first dance. All I care about is making sure I leave that night with you as my husband," Louis grabs his hand and kisses it. "So, are you up for it?"_

_"What, Niall stripping during our first dance?" Harry teases, earning him a smack to the chest._

_"No you little shit. I meant, are you ready to marry me?"_

_Harry smiles down at him and pushes himself up to kiss him on the nose.  “I already said yes didn’t I?” he waves his ring in front of his face. “But the real question is, are you up for it?”_

_“Yes I am,” Louis suddenly gets all serious and gently cups Harry’s cheek into his hand. “I can’t wait to spend my whole life with you. Even if you’re a dork sometimes.”_

_Harry giggles and lays his head back down on Louis’s chest. He focuses on his steady heartbeat, using the sound to lull him to sleep._

_“I can’t wait to make you my husband either,” Harry whispers. “It’s you and me against the world right?”_

_Louis smiles against his curls and simple nods his head. “You and me against world and whatever dares to come between us.”_

_Harry’s eyes start to droop and he lets sleep consume him. “I love you Lou.”_

_“I love you too Haz.”_

_They fall asleep happily knowing that the next day will be the greatest day of their lives._

\----------

Harry was stressed. His mother was coming over and she and Louis haven’t been on the best of terms. After the divorce, Anne resented Louis for breaking her son’s heart, which was understandable, but that was before he and Louis were getting along again.  

When Gemma told their mum that Louis moved into the guest house, Anne immediately called Harry saying she was gonna stay a few days with them until Mila’s birthday.

As much as Harry was stressed out, Louis was even worse. He was extremely nervous to be around Anne again and Harry didn’t blame him. His mother was usually extremely nice, but if you mess with her kids then she turns into a whole different person.

“Are you sure she said she wants me at dinner? Because I’m totally okay with just eating left overs at the guest house,” Louis said, clearly not keen on being at dinner with Anne.

“Louis it’ll be okay. Just don’t initiate any conversations with her and make sure not to make eye contact,” he said jokingly, but Louis nods to his words with a serious expression. “I was joking,” Harry deadpans. 

Louis groans and bangs his forehead against the counter. “I can’t do this Harry. She’s gonna murder me.”

“No she is not,” Harry says as he finishes up cutting up the chicken. 

He was cooking Anne’s favorite chicken dish and popped open the good wine to hopefully ease some of the upcoming tension. “Oh and you maybe want to change out of that top, she hates it when you wear that.”

Louis looks down at his orange Adidas jumper and frowns. “Okay then what should I wear? She likes me in that black V-neck I have, she told me so on New Year’s. I’ll go change into that,” Louis rushes to leave but stops when he hears Harry laughing. 

“I’m just fucking with you Lou,” Harry was really enjoying messing with him, it’s making him forget that his mother was coming. 

“Harry stop that! I’m shitting myself as it is!” Louis groans. 

“You know if we had a swear jar we would fill up like 5 jars just in a week,” Olivia comments as she makes her way into the kitchen. 

“Nothing you haven’t heard before love,” Louis places a kiss on her head. “Alright I’m gonna go calm myself down. Just call me before Anne gets here.” Louis walks out the room, looking like he was going to faint. 

“Should we be concerned?” Olivia quirks one of her eyebrows. 

“He’s just worried about your grandma. He’ll be fine,” Harry smiles but on the inside he was freaking out. 

 

The doorbell rings and Harry nearly drops the bowl of mashed potatoes. He takes a deep breath and makes his way to the door. When he gets there, the door is already open and all three of his kids were crowding his mother. 

“Oh my darlings! You all are getting so big!” Anne picks up Mila and gives her two big grandma kisses on her cheeks. As her eyes move to see all the kids she finally notices Harry, making her smile dim just a little. 

“Hi there sweetheart,” Anne walks up to her son and pulls him into a hug. “You look well.”

Harry hugs her tightly and welcomes in her familiar smell. “Thanks mum. I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too!” She backs up and gives him a kind smile. “I cannot wait to spend some time with my grand babies.”

As Harry is helping his mum with her bags, Louis walks in and his eyes widen when he sees Anne standing there.

Anne’s smile disappears all together and stares at Louis with judgement already in her eyes. 

“Uh H-Hi Anne," Louis smiles as her shakily. 

Anne doesn't offer a smile back. "Hello Louis."

She just got here and Harry could already feel the tension filling up the house. 

“Um how was your drive up?” Louis voice was dripping with nervousness and Harry knew his mother could hear it. 

“It was fine,” she simply says and abruptly turns her back towards him. “Alright kids how about you help me bring my bags to my room and I can show you the presents I brought for you.”

The kids excitedly grab her bags and rush upstairs. Anne starts to follow them but stops halfway to look back at Louis.

"Oh and Louis you mind changing that jumper of yours? The color is really giving me a headache."

Louis clenches his jaw and nods his head. "Of course Anne."

Anne doesn't even say thank you and walks up the rest of the stairs, leaving Louis and Harry by themselves. 

“You said you were joking about my jumper!” Louis smacks him on the arm.

“I was!” Harry rubs at where Louis hit him. "I had no idea she didn't like it!"

Louis runs his hands through his hair. “I already fucked this up. I have to go change!" Louis exclaims and exits the house in a hurry. 

Harry already feels a head ache coming on and rubs his temples. “This is going to the longest dinner of my life,” he sighs.

 

They haven’t even gotten through serving the food yet and Anne was already set on making this whole situation uncomfortable.  

“How have you been Louis?” Anne asks, already sipping some of her wine.

Louis looks shocked that Anne is actually talking to him but quickly pulls himself together. “I’ve been good. Thank you for asking. How about yourself?”

Harry keeps himself from snorting because Louis sounded so formal, which was so not like him.

Anne ignores the question. “Hmm that’s interesting, I would have thought you would still be miserable after the divorce.”

Harry almost chokes on his food. “Mum! Please can you not do this right now? We just started eating.”

“I was joking! Come on I’m just trying to ease the tension in here.”

Harry stabs his fork into his chicken and wishes that the clock would move a little faster.

Through the rest of the dinner, Anne thankfully got distracted with the kids and didn’t really interact with Louis anymore.

Harry looks over at Louis who was quietly eating his food, with his head down, clearly trying not to bring any attention to himself.

Harry felt awful that his mother was treating him like this. To try to comfort him, Harry nudges Louis’s foot with his own, making him look up.

He pulls a funny face, making Louis look at him with amusement and pulls his own funny face. They both giggle at one another, unaware that Anne was observing their little interaction.    

“So Louis,” Anne interrupts, making them both snap their heads up to her. “How’s football season going?”

Louis swallows his food and clears his throat. “Yeah, it’s going well. We still have a lot more games to play though.”

“You still playing like shit?” Anne asks without hesitation.

“Mum!” Harry scolds her for being rude and for cursing in front of the children.

Louis intervenes before Harry could finish. “Actually I’m doing fairly well. I’m top scorer on the team right now as a matter of fact,” he said smugly.

“Oh really?” Anne raises one eyebrow. “Because I can see by those grey streaks in your hair that you’re getting a little older now. Those joints of yours not rusting up yet?”

Harry watches Louis tighten his hands around his silverware, probably trying to contain himself.

“I might not move as fast as I did when I was younger but I can still play,” Louis states.

“Right, well I just think you should retire soon. We don’t want you to pull your back from just doing squats now,” Anne smirks against her glass and all Harry wanted was for this conversation to end.

All of a sudden Louis pushes back his chair, making the legs screech against the floor. When he was fully standing up, he suddenly looked more nervous than before.

“It’s funny you mention that,” Louis speaks up and rubs his hands together. “I’ve wanted to tell you guys something for a while now.”

Louis hesitates for a second making Anne a little impatient. “Well spit it out then.”

Harry looks at his mum with a tired look. “Mum can you just please let him talk,” he pleads with her.

Anne just swats her hand at him but she thankfully stays quiet. Harry turns his attention back to Louis and encourages him to continue.

Louis nods at him gratefully, and proceeds with whatever he’s about to say. “I uh well…I’m going to be retiring after this season.”

Harry watches the shock form onto everyone’s face, including Anne’s.

Louis looks relieved that he finally told the kids. Harry knows how nervous Louis was to tell them so he was proud that he finally did, especially since he decided to do this while Anne was here.

Beckham is the first one to break the silence. “Are you serious? Why? You’ve been playing so good dad.”

“Yeah but not as good as I was when I was younger. I’m getting old, which I thank Anne for reminding me,” he tilts his head toward her and she just turns her head, looking down at the floor.

“When did you decide this?” Olivia asks.

Louis nervously plays with his hands. “A few months ago-“

“Months ago?! And you didn’t tell us?” Beckham looks almost hurt as his dad explains this to him.

“I had to be sure. I couldn’t tell you if I was having doubts.”

“You could have at least mentioned it to us dad! I cannot believe you’ve kept this to yourself this whole time, we could have helped you!” Olivia uses the same argument Harry did when he found out.

“Hey now,” Harry tries to calm everyone down. “He wasn’t alone. He had me.”

“He told _you_?” Anne finally speaks, after she’s been quietly observing this whole thing.

“Yeah. Louis told me,” Harry decides not to mention that he found out through Liam. “And don’t get mad at your dad. He just wanted to be sure before he told you guys.”

Louis sends him a grateful smile, which prompts Harry to wink at him.

Beckham and Olivia calm down a bit and have regret written on their face for yelling at their dad. 

“Sorry we yelled. We just didn’t see this coming. We understand why you didn’t tell us dad,” Olivia apologizes.

“Yeah we’re sorry,” Beckham said. “But do we still get discounts to the games?”

This eases the tension in the room, making everyone laugh. 

Louis smiles at him, making his eyes crinkle. “Well I better still get discounts. I am a legend there as you know,” he said, making everyone roll their eyes at his smugness. “Now how about we clean up here and we can play some games before bed.”

The kids easily agree and start to help clean up the table. Harry stands up and notices his mum was still drinking her wine, lost in her thoughts. 

“You alright there mum?” he asks her.

“Of course, this is just really good wine,” she grins against the rim of her glass.

Harry can see straight through her smile. There was something going on in her head and he didn’t know if it was good or bad.

 

“Uno!” Harry yells out for the fifth time that night, making everyone groan.

“What the hell?! You have to be cheating!” Louis points an accusing finger at him.

Harry laughs and just waves his card in his face. “Nope this is pure luck baby!”

“Luck my ass. You’ve been peaking at everyone cards haven’t you?”

“Of course not! I would never,” Harry said affronted. 

Louis narrows his eyes at him. “I’m watching you Styles.”

Harry bites his lip to suppress a smile. His eyes roam over to his mum who was watching the interaction with curiosity. Harry clears his throat and urges whoever’s next to place down a card.

The game goes on and it’s Louis’s turn. He places a wild card and stares Harry down, as if he was trying to read his mind.

“Just pick a damn color already,” Harry said impatiently.

“Give me a minute!” Louis gives him one last hard look and then finally settles on a color. “Green.”

A smirk slowly makes its way on Harry’s face and he lays down his last and only card.

“I won!” Harry throws his hands up in victory.                                 

“You must be kidding me,” Louis looks down at the card with shock.

“Ha I won 5 times in a row! Suck it Lou!” Harry was too busy gloating that he didn’t notice that Louis had collected all the cards in his hands and started to throw them at him. “Oi stop being a sore loser!” Harry laughs as he dodges the incoming Uno cards.

“ _You_ stop being a sore winner!” Louis crawls over and dumps a whole pile of cards on top of Harry’s head.

Harry quickly looks around for something to protect himself with and his eyes fall on Mila who was just playing with Clifford. He scoops Mila up and uses her as a shield from Louis.

“Oh we have to stop using poor Mila as a human shield! That’s just playing dirty,” Louis drops the rest of the cards.

Harry stands up, still holding Mila in front of him in case Louis starts to attack him with cards again. “You’re the one who did it first!”

“Yeah well I was protecting myself from an angry Harry. You’re protecting yourself from a couple of flimsy Uno cards.”

Harry giggles and cuddles Mila closer to him. “Whose side are you on Mila? Mine or your dad’s?”

Mila looks between her two fathers before turning back to Harry. “Papa!”

Louis’s mouth falls open dramatically and he lets out faux a gasp. “What?! I thought I was your favorite parent! You traitor!”

Louis starts to run toward them, making Harry let out a squeak and take off running the other direction. They eventually find themselves in a cat and mouse type chase, where Louis was the cat, Harry is the mouse and Mila was just there for the ride.

“Come back here! Give me my daughter back, you clearly brainwashed her!” Louis shouts after him.

“I did no such thing! She just likes me more!” Harry looks back for just a second to stick his tongue out at Louis.

This unfortunately slows him down and Louis suddenly was right behind him. Harry let’s out a gasp when he feel Louis’s arm wrap around his waist. 

Louis traps him against his body, making Harry still completely.

“I got you!” Louis says against his ear. “Now hand her over!”

“No never!” Harry yells and hurriedly places Mila to the ground. “Run Mila! Run! Leave me behind!”

Mila takes off running on her two tiny legs and she ends up running to Anne.

Louis spins him around in his arms so that Harry was facing him. “Well it looks like I got you instead.”

Harry smirks down at him, he always loved being the taller one. “You disappointed?”

“Eh I mean I guess you can do,” Louis shrugs his shoulders, making Harry smack him on the arm playfully. 

“You’re an idiot,” Harry laughs.

Harry watches Louis’s eye glance down at his lips for just a fraction of a second before they hear someone clear their throat rather loudly.

They both look to the side and see their kids and Anne looking at them with amused expression on their faces. Harry quickly gets out from Louis’s grasp and abruptly falls to the floor to clean up the Uno cards.

“Hey Louis why don’t you put the kids to bed while I help Harry here clean up,” Anne suggests.

Louis nods his head and ushers his kids upstairs leaving Anne and Harry alone. 

As Harry is picking up the last remaining cards, he feels his mum kneel down next to him. He looks up and sees her watching him with an unreadable expression. 

“Did you want something?” Harry asks as he stuffs the cards into the box. 

“When did you and Louis start getting close again?” Anne asks without hesitation. 

“Um just recently. We decided it was better to be friends than be nothing at all.”

Anne takes her time, considering what to say next. “Is that why you asked him to move back in?”

“Not exactly,” Harry shrugs. “We thought it was in the best interest of the kids.”

Harry doesn’t hear Anne say anything for a while until he feels a hand on his shoulder. “Honey can you look at me please?”

Harry looks at his mom, and she cradles his face with her hands. She carefully examines him for a minute before she breaks out in a smile.

“You look happy sweetheart.”

Harry looks at her with confusion. “Well yeah I am. What should I not be happy about?”

“No I mean I haven’t seen this expression on you since you told me you were in love.”

Harry finally realizes what she’s getting at and nope. This is not happening.

Harry abruptly stands up and tries to get away from his mum. This was the last thing he wanted to hear right now. 

“Harry just listen to me,” Anne quickly follows her son.

“No mum just let it go,” Harry tries to plead with her. “Why are you so interested anyway? I thought you hated Louis?”

“I don’t hate him. I hated that he made you so miserable but now I see that’s not the case anymore.” Anne makes her way in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. “Darling, you have to have noticed that you’re-”

“Of course I noticed!” Harry interrupts her before she could even finish. He plops himself down on one of the dining chairs and takes a deep breath.

“How long?” Anne carefully asks, as if she was scared she was going to scare him away. 

“I don’t know, for a while now. I’ve been trying to ignore it.”

“But why?” 

Harry can’t help but laugh. “There are so many reasons why mum. I mean I’m the one who divorced him in the first place, and most importantly he doesn’t feel the same way.”

“First off just because you divorced him doesn’t mean you can’t fall back in love with him,” Anne rubs his shoulder comfortingly. “And I’m not saying this because I’m your mum but I can see clear as day that, that man is still in love with you too.”

Harry wants to believe her but he just can’t. It’s hard to believe Louis would be in love with him after everything that he put him through. 

“It doesn’t matter if he does or not. Louis is doing so much better without me. I don’t want to ruin this.”

“Harry you have to stop blaming all this on yourself. It’s not fair to you.”

“I just can’t let this family go through any more pain mum,” Harry sighs. “We’ve been through too much.”

“But imagine the love and joy you guys will have if you and Louis-”

“Mum please stop! I’m done talking about this,” Harry stands up, suddenly really tired. “Have a goodnight.”

With that, Harry makes his way to his bedroom and shuts his door. He thought he would be able to hide his affection for Louis just until his mum was gone but it looks like his mum can still read him like a book.

\----------

His mum and the kids were being suspicious. Whenever Harry walked in the same room as them, they would talk in hushed voices. Harry knew something was going on and he did not have a good feeling about it.

Instead of asking them directly, Harry chose to ignore it for now. His mum had finally stopped pestering him and she wasn't being rude to Louis anymore, so he counts that as a win. 

"Oh papa there you are," Beckham said as he spots him in his office.

Harry doesn't bother to look up from his laptop. He was currently writing a new report and he needed it to be done by the afternoon. "What do you need love?"

"Well grandma is gonna take us to movies. We just wanted to let you know."

"Alright that's fine. Just make sure to bring Mila's sweater it might get cold in the cinema."

"Okay! Oh and grandma made reservations at that restaurant you like."

Harry stops typing and furrows his eyebrows. "The Ivy?"

"Yeah that's the one," Beckham confirms.

"That's kind of fancy isn't it?"

"Well you know grandma, she has expensive taste," Beckham chuckles nervously. "Anyway we'll all meet up there around 7 okay? Love you papa!"

Harry watches as his son quickly leaves his office and he can't help but feel a sense of dread in his stomach.

_What the hell was his mother planning?_

 

Harry slipped on his pea coat and tousled his hair until it looked up to his standards. The Ivy was one of those restaurants where they had to dress up, so he had on some black pants that flared at the bottom and a cream colored blouse with ruffles as the collar. 

“Explain to me again why your mother picked The Ivy?” Louis’s voice echoes through the empty house.

Harry turns around and his heart stops for just a second when he sees Louis. He was dressed in simple black dress pants and a navy button up with the top two buttons unbuttoned, showing off his chest tattoo. 

“I have no idea,” Harry composes himself. “I guess she wanted to treat us after the shit she pulled at dinner the other night.”

“I hate dressing up,” Louis looks down at his clothes and then back up to him. “You look really good though. Is that top Gucci?”

“Like you even have to ask,” Harry smirks. “But thank you. You clean up nice as well.”

“Thanks, so you want to drive? My legs are sore from practice.”

“Of course your majesty. I can’t have the king driving himself when his legs are hurting him,” Harry teases. 

Louis slaps his arm and pushes him out the door. “Shut up, let’s go you idiot.”

 

They didn’t say much on the drive there but it was a comforting silence. Harry missed moments like those where they didn’t say nothing at all. Sometimes it was better to just be quiet.

When they arrived to the restaurant Harry sent a quick text to his mum saying that they’re there but that was a half an hour ago and they still haven’t responded.

“Damn it where are they?” Harry asks as he tries to call his mum again.

“Olivia and Beckham aren’t answering their phones either. Do you think something happened?” Louis asks worriedly.

“I don’t know. Come on let’s go and-”

“Mr. Tomlinson and Mr. Styles?” One of the waitresses call them over. “We have your table ready for you.”

“Oh we were waiting on the rest of our family to get here,” Harry said.

The waitress frowns and looks back down at her computer screen. “I’m sorry sir but the reservation says it’s only for two.”

“What?” Harry and Louis said in unison.

“The reservation made by Anne, she set it for two,” the waitress slowly repeats for them. 

And yep Harry was going to kill his mother. He looks over to Louis who looked just as shocked as he did.

“So if you two would follow me.” The waitress doesn’t notice their distress and starts to walk away, so Harry and Louis have no choice to follow her.

She sits them at a romantic candle lit table and leaves them with their menus. Harry looks up at Louis who was just staring at the white table cloth in front of him.

“I knew she was planning something,” Harry groans into his hands. “I swear I had no idea about this.”

As Harry is busy cursing his mother in his head, he hears Louis start to laugh. He looks up and sure enough Louis is sitting there just laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Harry asks, already chuckling because Louis’s laugh was so infectious.

“It’s just one minute I think your mum is trying to hang me from my balls for breaking your heart, and now she’s making secret plots with our kids to set us up?” Louis delicately sweeps his fringe out of his face. “I’m just so confused right now,” he laughs.

This makes Harry laugh too because this whole thing was ridiculous. “I’m sorry for all of this Louis. We can leave if you want.”

“Nah we waited half an hour here and I’m starving. Plus I even got dressed up for this shit so let’s just enjoy this night shall we?” Louis shoots him one his charming smiles.

“I guess you’re right,” Harry pops open the wine that was sitting there and pours him and Louis a drink. “To meddling mothers and deceptive children!” Harry raises his glasses.

“Cheers!” Louis exclaims with amusement in his eyes.

Harry smiles around his glass and takes a big gulp. He doesn’t know if he go through the night sober so he’s taking in as much wine as he can to get a little tipsy.

They stay in silence until the waitress comes back to take their orders. Harry orders what he always orders which is their lasagna, and Louis chooses the steak.

When the waitress leaves, Louis decides to break the silence.

“Remember the first time you brought me here,” Louis asks.

Harry giggles to himself, how could he forget? 

Harry remembers waiting for Louis outside the parking lot and suddenly sees this Audi sports car whip into a parking spot and out walks Louis in an Arsenal sweatshirt and jeans.

“Yeah you came here wearing jeans,” Harry smiles at the memory.

“Because someone didn’t tell that this was one of those posh restaurants!” Louis shouts, making other people at the surrounding tables, glare at them.

“I told you the address! You should have googled it!”

“I did, but you knew me back then. I didn’t have a clue that you had to dress up for five star restaurants. You were always the posh one in the relationship.”

Harry scoffs, “Says the one who owned like 5 sports cars.”

“Eh that’s totally different,” Louis smiles to himself, like he knows he’s full of shit.

“Okay Lou,” Harry rolls his eyes fondly. “But you have to admit it was one of our best dates.”

Louis nods in agreement. “It was. It was the same date where I gave you that.”

He points at Harry’s pearl necklace and Harry instinctively clutches it in his hands.

“Seems like you still love wearing it,” Louis sips his wine.

Harry stares at the necklace in his hand and blushes. “I’m just wearing it because it pairs nice with this top.”

Louis puts the down the glass and puts on a tight smile. “So anything interesting happening at work?” He asks effectively changing the subject.

When the food finally showed up, their conversations were flowing with ease. They kept bouncing off one another and were intent on listening to what the other one had to say. Even when they weren’t talking they would share these looks that meant more than words.

The flame on the candles were slowly dimming and people all around them were starting to leave. The two men didn’t even seem to notice since they were too caught up in their own little world. 

“You divorced me because I was a slob! Admit it!” Louis jokes loudly. 

Harry let’s out a cackle and tries covering the noise behind his mouth. “I think we both know that’s not the reason I divorced you.”

Louis smiles at him and leans closer against the table. “Then tell me the reason.”

Harry looks up at him and sees that Louis was still smiling but there was a serious tone behind his question.

“We just weren’t clicking like we used to Lou," Harry shrugs. "We were always fighting. It wasn’t a healthy relationship anymore.”

Louis stays quiet for a minute before responding. “You know that night we had that fight?”

Flashbacks of yelling, crying and a beer bottle being thrown against the wall flashes in Harry’s head, creating goosebumps all over him. Harry bites his bottom lip and nods his head. 

“I regret so much from that night,” Louis continues. “It’s the one moment in my life where I truly want to go back and change what I did.”

“If you could what would you have done differently?” Harry asks curiously.

“Everything,” Louis said with self-deprecation. “I regret yelling at you and not talking it out like you wanted just because I was a selfish stubborn prick. I regret saying those two words that I never even meant. I regret leaving you that night.”

Harry looks away because his eyes were becoming glassy. He clears his throat to disguise any emotion that could be heard.

“You know as soon as you left, Olivia and Beckham came downstairs. I was in hysterics but they calmed me down. They didn’t even ask questions, they just helped me to bed and cleaned up the mess I made,” Harry smiles at the memory. 

“I’m so sorry Harry,” Louis looks down at the table. “I should have stayed.”

Harry nudges his foot with his own, making Louis look up at him. “Hey it doesn’t matter anymore. It’s in the past. What matters now is here.”

Louis and Harry share a smile and stare at one another. The candles were creating these shadows across their faces, highlighting their features which made them even more beautiful.

Harry was about to tell Louis as such, but they were interrupted by the waitress who had the check in her hand. “I do apologize gentlemen but we will be closing shortly.”

She sets the bill in the middle of the table and both men finally look up from one another and look around. There was absolutely no one left except for the waiters who were cleaning up.

“Oh uh I didn’t realize it was so late already,” Harry clears his throat and goes to grab the bill but Louis beats him to it.

“I got this one H,” Louis said as he’s already signaling the waitress to take his card.

“I hate when you do that,” Harry pouts.

“Hm well maybe you should have quicker hands darling,” Louis chuckles.

Harry takes one last gulp of his wine and stands up. “Oh I think we both know I have fast enough hands Lou,” he says innocently and starts to walk toward the exit, leaving Louis behind.

Harry smiles to himself when he hears Louis’s footsteps struggling to keep up with him.

“I’m driving!” Louis announces as speeds out to the now empty parking lot. 

“No I’m driving,” Harry dangles the keys in front of him. “I had less to drink.” They both knew that was a lie.

“Well you’re a light-weight so I think I’m in the best condition to drive actually,” Louis said as he blocks the car door.

Harry sighs and crosses his arms in front of him. “Let’s do a sobriety test then.”

Louis easily agrees and picks one of the parking lines to walk on. “Alright I’ll go first.”

Harry watches Louis walk the line with no difficulty and even shows off at the end by hopping the line with one foot.

“Okay we get it you can handle your alcohol,” Harry rolls his eyes.

“That I can! Your turn light-weight,” Louis says with amusement.

Harry set’s himself up at the end of the line and starts to slowly walk across it. He was doing well until he accidentally tripped over a rock.

He prepares himself to fall on the gravel but then he feels two strong arms wrap around him. He looks up to see blue eyes staring down at him.

“I win,” Louis grins victoriously.

“I tripped,” Harry says still leaning on Louis for support.

“No excuses Styles.” Louis finally pulls him up but still keeps his hands on his waist.

Harry leans into his touch and brings his arms around his neck. “I’m not drunk," he tells him.

“Neither am I.” Louis’s eyes glance down to Harry’s lips before quickly looking back into his eyes.

Harry licks his lips. “So how do we settle this?”

Louis all of a sudden grips his hands tighter on his waist, making Harry bite his lip to suppress a moan.

“Well since I have the keys, I think I’ll be driving.”

Harry looks at him with confusion before yanking himself from Louis’s grip and feeling his pockets for his keys.

While he’s doing this he hears the car beep and the car door slam. When Harry looks up he sees Louis already situated in the driver’s seat with his seat belt on.

“Come on Styles, what are you waiting around for?” He says smugly.

He simply sticks his middle finger at him, earning him a cackle from Louis. Harry can't even be mad at him.

It was probably for the best that Harry wasn't driving because he doesn't think he could stay focused on the road and it wasn't because of the wine. 

 

“You want me to walk you home?” Harry asks as Louis parks the car.

Louis quirks an eyebrow at him. “You mean you want to walk me across the backyard to the guest house?”

“Yeah I hear there’s these little gremlins that lurk in the tomatoes,” Harry said with a dramatic effect.

“Oh well that sounds terrifying,” Louis laughs at him. “I would love it if you escorted me home then.”

Harry gladly takes his arm and starts to lead them to the guest house. They’re giggling against one another until they hear rustling in the bushes.

They both stop in their tracks and Harry swears Louis tightens his grip on his arm. “Harry what was that?”

“I don’t know. It must be a rabbit or something,” Harry whispers.

“Okay come on. We’re almost there,” Louis insists, walking a little faster than they were.

They’re passing by a small hedge when all of a sudden something big and furry jumps out and tackles Louis to the ground. Harry hears him let out a small surprised shriek that almost sounded like when Olivia sees a spider.

Harry looks down and sees Clifford on top of Louis, licking his face.

“Oh god Clifford you scared me half to death!” Louis exclaims, trying to catch his breath.

Harry can’t help but laugh. He’s laughing so hard that tears start to form in his eyes and his stomach starts to hurt.

“This is not funny!” Louis shouts.

Harry laughs even harder, causing him to fall on the ground while holding his stomach. “Oh my god Lou! You sounded like a little girl!”

Louis finally manages to get Clifford off of him and decides to straddle Harry, using his hands to pin down his wrists.

“You are not to tell anyone about this alright?” Louis looks down at him with seriousness.

“Not a chance,” Harry cackles. “This is going to be my next topic next week, _Louis Tomlinson scared of his own dog!_ ” 

Louis takes this opportunity to tickle him. “You post that and I will end your career Styles!”

“Alright, alright stop please I won’t! I promise!” Harry gasps out.

Louis thankfully relents but he puts his hands back down to pin Harry’s wrists again. “You promise?”

Harry composes himself and smiles wide at him. “Yes I promise.”

They’re giggling slowly dies down and all that could be heard was their heaving breathing. Louis looks down at him with his blue eyes and just stares, making Harry blush under the scrutiny.

“What is it?” Harry asks.

Louis bites his bottom lip and shrugs his shoulder. “Just admiring how beautiful you look.”

Harry looks at him unimpressed. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

“You’re such a little shit,” Louis giggles.

Harry looks up him through his eyelashes. “You know you don’t look too bad yourself Tomlinson.”

Louis suddenly lays most of his body weight on Harry and inches his face closer until they were practically breathing the same air. He takes his right hand and cradles Harry’s cheek, using his thumb to caress the soft skin there.

“Oh yeah? I’m not getting too old for you now?”

He shakes his head. “No you look great actually,” his eyes drop down to his lips and Louis watches him. “Even with your grey hair and-”

Harry doesn’t get to finish his sentence because the next thing he knows is Louis’s lips are on his. And just like that a fire was reignited into him.

Harry brings him closer by wrapping his arms around his neck and for just this moment, he lets himself have this.

Harry pushes himself closer to Louis to deepen the kiss. Louis grunts against his mouth and let’s himself be pulled down. Before Harry could wrap his legs around his waist, Clifford comes in and disrupts them.

Harry giggles against his mouth when he feels Clifford licking his face.

“Oh come on Cliff,” Louis groans.

“I think I should finish walking you home,” Harry suggests.

Louis rolls his eyes and reluctantly stands up, pulling Harry up with him. “You know you did a terrible job at escorting me. First you let Clifford tackle me and then you start attacking my face.”

“Oh don’t act like you didn’t like that second part,” Harry grabs his hand and leads him to the guest house.

“I mean I didn’t mind it,” Louis shrugs his shoulder.

They make it to the doorstep and Harry backs himself against the wall, bringing Louis along with him. “Oh you didn’t? So you won’t mind if we did it again?”

“I wouldn’t be opposed to it.”

Harry simply pulls him by the collar and crashes their lips together. This time the kiss was more intense, years of frustration were finally being let out. Harry let’s Louis in and tries to be get reacquainted with his body.

The wall was digging into Harry’s back but he didn’t mind it one bit. Louis removes his lips from Harry’s, making him whine but it soon turns into a groan when Louis starts to kiss down his neck.

Harry’s eyes flutter close from the pleasure. “Louis,” he moans.

“You want to go inside?” Louis whispers against his ear.

As much as Harry wants to say yes, he knows that he can’t. Harry brings Louis back up by his collar and presses their lips together one last time.

“I would love to,” Harry says against his mouth. “But we should really talk about this in the morning first.”

Louis pants against his face and nods his head. “Yeah you’re right. We have a lot to talk about huh?”

Harry smiles at him. “We do.”

Louis backs away and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “Well thanks for walking me home.”

“It was my absolute pleasure. I had a good time tonight by the way.”

“Me too,” Louis agrees. “I guess we have your mother to thank for that.”

“Yeah maybe let’s not mention this to her. I hate it when she’s right.”

“Alright yeah. So I guess this is good night.” Louis leans against his door and watches Harry carefully.

“Mhm but we’ll talk in the morning,” Harry restates just to make himself clear.

Whatever was happening between them, they needed to slow down before they got too carried away.

Louis bites his bottom lip, making it very hard for Harry to leave him but Clifford barks bringing his attention on him.

“Night Haz,” Louis waves him good bye.

Harry walks over to Clifford and tugs him by the collar until he follows him. He looks back toward Louis and smiles dumbly at him. “Good night Lou.”

As soon as he gets inside Harry takes a deep breath and quietly makes his way upstairs, trying not to wake anyone up.

“So how was your night?” A voice calls out in the dark.

Harry closes his eyes for a second to prepare himself to face his mum.

“It was good but I think you already knew that.” He turns around to look at her.

“I have no idea what you mean sweetheart,” she plays innocent.

Harry shakes his head but can’t help but grin at her. “I know what you did and I hate to admit it, but thank you.”

Anne pulls him into a hug and clutches him tight. “I love you Harry. I just want to see you happy.”

“I know mum just next time, give me a heads up when you set up a romantic dinner between me and my ex-husband.”

Anne chuckles and even has the decency to blush. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s alright but I have to ask, what changed your mind about Louis? I mean you pretty much wanted to bite his head off at dinner.”

“Well I saw the way Louis stared at you. He looked at you like you hung the moon and the stars. And you looked at him the same way,” Anne smiles at him fondly. “You know how much I love Louis, it pained me to resent him for so long but I only did it because I thought he made you unhappy. Now that I’m here seeing you like this, I can’t help but thank him for making you smile again.”

Harry feels tears start to well up in his eyes but he manages to keep them in. He clears his throat and pulls his mum into a hug. “I love you mum. Thank you.”

“I love you too sweetheart. Now why don’t you head up to bed? It’s getting late.”

Harry smiles at her one last time before heading up. “Alright, goodnight mum.”

“Good night Harry.”

 

When Harry finally tucks himself into bed, he thinks about everything that happened tonight.

Kissing Louis tonight was totally different from their other kiss they had. With this one there was no hesitation and there was passion behind the kiss that Harry still felt numb from.

Tonight was something that Harry has been yearning for ever since he and Louis have been getting along. They actually sat down and talked for hours about everything.

Harry was happily surprised to find out that Louis was still the same loud, charming, and beautiful man he met but this time there was something else. Something that Harry can’t put into words.

If that waitress didn’t tell them the restaurant was closing then they would still be there talking.

Harry missed this. He missed just being able to have these type of nights with Louis. Where they didn’t care about anything else except one another.

Harry tucks his hands behind the back of his head and looks up at the ceiling with a big stupid grin on his face. He hasn’t felt this giddy in a long time.

He closes his eyes contently and lets the silence surround him.

As he lays there, in the quiet, his mind starts to wander a bit. Now that Louis wasn’t there to distract him, the voice in his head that he suppressed the whole night was back.

Previous negative thoughts and doubts started to come crashing back, making the smile on his face disappear.

“Shit what the hell am I doing?” Harry asks himself and shoots right up from his bed.

He can’t get back together with Louis. That just can’t happen. The possibility of getting back together with Louis felt right at the time but Harry blames his lack of judgement on lust.

No matter how amazing tonight was, Harry couldn’t let himself forget all the pain they experienced when they were together.

If they get back together there is no telling on how Louis will act. Will he go back to how he was? Will they go back to fighting? Will they hurt each other again?

Harry did not know the answers to those questions but he knew he didn’t want to risk it. They had a great thing going before tonight and Harry didn’t want to screw it all up just because of some unresolved sexual tension.

Even though being with Louis tonight was an absolute dream, Harry does not want to risk the chance of hurting him again. And frankly, Harry was scared to put his own heart on the line as well.

There is no way he can sleep with all this shit going through his head right now. He needed someone to vent to.

Harry takes out his phone and dials up the only person who would come over at midnight when he was in a crisis.

The phone rings for a few seconds before they pick up.

_“Harry? Why are you calling so late? Are you okay?”_

“Nick? I need you to come over, now.”

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Added some angst at the end because it was a little too fluffy, sorry! Anyway hopefully you guys liked this chapter as much as I did. Make sure to comment (PLEASE comment, I love hearing your reactions!) and drop a kudos if you enjoyed. 
> 
> Happy Holidays Everyone!  
> -DJN
> 
> Follow me on Twitter @LTHSFICS for updates or if you just want to chat!


End file.
